Hanging on to Summer

It started off as an good idea and ended up becoming an awesome idea and an wonderful day.  We dropped Grammie off at the Airport and said our good buys and then hit the big meat market to grab monster smoked turkey legs and sausage sticks.  Ella had put the Zoo on her summer bucket list and with time running we disregarded a rainy forecast and headed for the animals.  The temps were cool and the crowds were eerily nonexistent.  It was the foreshadowing suspense of the early pages of a Stephen King novel and being in the middle of it we too barely noticed.  Ella and Grace were able to feed and pet the Giraffe and as the searched for moose and watched the primates groom each other I thought maybe they had forgotten about the 1000 foot zip-line that ended at the front entrance of the zoo.  They had not, and with the zoo stroll done and our bellies still filled with meat snacks and polish pastries from Maplewood we hoofed it up the hill to check out the details for the Zip-line.  Grace was immediately excited "We have to sign wafers, that is how you know it is going to be fun!"  We did indeed need to sign waivers and regardless of her phonics training it was going to be no easy cookie!  Unfortunately somebody needed to watch the backpack and car keys and Amy took one for the team and didn't go on the Zip-line.  It starts on a rebuilt 50 foot fire tower and then heads a 1000 feet out over a pond and reaching speeds of about 30 mph.  As a value hunter, Amy noticed it was a better deal if we bought the package that included the Zip-line and the Ropes challenge course.  The highest level on the ropes course is about 40 feet in the air and the only way out is a mandatory 8 foot free fall before being slowed by a bungee harness.  The kids are also in charge of hooking themselves in with their carabiners while standing 40 feet in the air on 18 inch platforms and they disconnect from one safety cable and then reconnect to the next safety cable on the other side of the poles.  It is totally safe, but also totally nerve wracking for the parents on the ground.  The girls spent over an hour and maybe and hour and half clipping in and moving through the obstacles of spider nets, tarzan ropes and suspension platforms.  We as parents spent that same amount of time pacing, hollering "be careful' and generally sweating and shaking our heads at each other.  With the girls back on the ground it was time to hit the local pizza place before rounding out the night with a backyard fire.