zzzzzzzipin' through the trees of misty mountain farm

Disclaimer: it was with no small amount of concern that we approached this ziplining adventure.  First, of all, it was my (cathie/mom's) idea and I know that rob/your dad would not have, in a million years, thought that I'd want to do this.  So, I know that he (rob/your dad) was doing this for me, as he does so many things, just because that's the way he 'rolls.'

So we showed up at the Kona Eco-Adventures storefront at 10:30 and were transported, along with the other 5 'first-timers' to the Misty Mountain Farm by our 'rastafarian-esque' driver, Nick, and his side-kick, Sarah, who later turned out to be one of our capable guides.  Once we got to the farm we passed cattle, chicken and saw for the first time, a watusi, which being children of the 60's, we thought was a dance move, but now we know are cattle, native to Africa, resembling longhorn, with a hornspan of 8 feet.  Also, on the farm is a woodmill with a wood kiln, which processes ONLY fallen timber for use in building and furniture.  All of the platforms used in the zipline course were constructed from kiln-fired ohia wood harvested from this very farm.  Those of you who have sat around our kitchen table or in the bentwood rocker in our den have also sat on kiln-fired wood.....although not nearly as exotic as this.......but still, willow from southern Iowa that won't decompose is pretty handy to have around.

So Nick and Sarah delivered us to the staging area where we are outfitted with our gear and loaded into a German Pinzgauer (Vietman era?)....

and then we're off through, yet again, a beautiful forest, and there was a reason that we already had our helmets on because this was one 'rough and tumble' ride, for sure!

 

When we arrived at the first platform (our guides called it the 'bunny run') they gave us an orientation about the equipment we were wearing.  There were all these straps (around waist, over shoulders, through the crotch, around the hips) and then there was all this 'hardware' which they explained to us was called 'our junk'......we were NOT to touch 'our junk'.....only THEY were allowed to touch 'our junk'.....(unrestrained laughter all around at this point).....and 'our junk', including its three points of contact (that seemed to very important), was what was going to connect us to the cable (which is the same kind of cable used on aircraft carriers to stop jets when they're landing....so okay, I'm feeling a little more confident).  So we were ready to go.....and IF we weren't, it was a wee bit late to do anything about it now, right?

We both held onto the straps during the first 'zip' ,but rob/your dad got real brave on the second zip and totally let go, extended his legs and even spun around.  I could tell, at that point, that he was definitely glad that this stop was on our itinerary.

 

 

 

This last pic of rob/your dad is after the final 'zip' and it was 1025 feet from the previous platform and was the steepest of all.  That's why I wish I'd used the zoom .......his smile says it all- - -  TOTALLY amazing and wonderful experience..

 

One thing for sure......we'd worked up an appetite (although they had provided some guava juice and homemade banana nut bread on a platform 50 feet up in the canopy halfway through the course) so we headed into town for.......FAJITAS.......at Pancho and Lefty's, right?  Because everyone knows that even when you're in 'seafood paradise', Tex-Mex is hard to beat. And  the 70% chance of rain that had been forecast held off until we got back to the resort and then, while we were watching the sunset from our favorite spot on Level 5, the storms rolled in and we were lucky to get back to our condo withoiut getting drenched.