This week we're on vacation in Venice, FL. This is a spot I have been coming to as a kid as my parents love it here and plan on retiring here. It's kind of an old-fashioned beach town where residents are retirement age and storefronts close at 6:30pm. Dave and I feel really young here, but are still enjoying ourselves. While my parents enjoy sitting on the beach and lounging, Dave and I like our vacations with a little dose of excitement and adventure. So, as we were researching our trip we each picked an adventure. Mine was going to trapeze school.
Our class was a mixture of young and old, newbies and experienced fliers. And then there was me...wanting to check something off my Life List. Needless to say, I was the only one who was scared. SCARED!!! With very little instructions we were strapped into a harness, put on a lower bar, and taught a few tricks. I should mention, I don't even like to swing on a swing set. It makes me a little sick to my stomach.
And then it was time to move to the real deal. This is when I started to lose it. There was a young girl who kinda kept taunting me. She would say things like, "it's gonna make you want to cry" or "it's gonna make you breathe really heavy." Because I couldn't be mean and I didn't know this chick, I would just laugh it off. Humor is my defense mechanism for being scared (or if you know me really well, for just about anything). Dave went first of the two of us. You had to climb a metal extension ladder to the top and then wind your way around onto the platform where they hooked you in and then you do your thing. Dave was a natural, of course, and did all the tricks and even got to do a back flip off the trapeze and landed in the net. Then it was my turn. I was half way up the ladder and I started to freak out. I mean, FREAK OUT!!! I would take one step and pause. Another step and pause. Finally I got to the top and somehow made it onto the platform. Honestly I don't remember anything from the time I made it to the top of the ladder until I grabbed the trapeze. I needed a lot of convincing and was scared out of my mind the entire time I was flying. I didn't do any of the tricks and basically just swung. But I did it and that's all that counts. When it was over I cried and cried and cried. Silly, I know. It was completely involuntary, though. In the end, I only flew once. It was enough. Here's video evidence...(and yes that was my dad saying, "I don't think she's gonna make it up the ladder.")
2 comments:
You may still have some height fear issues, but you looked like a rock star up there! Way to go!! Totally want to come along on your life list adventure!
You looked fabulous doing the splits on the lower bar! I am so sorry it was so scary for you. With all of your gymnastics background, I think the tricks portion would be easy, aside from the heights problem.
I can't tell you how bad I wanted you do to a flyaway off the trapeze!
Have you ever seen those trampolines where they have the harnesses on them at fairs? The have small ones at some malls even. While I was out to a fair with some co-workers in Toronto, I encountered one, and could not resist. All you did was bounce up and down and you could do flips. It was super fun, and I think it would be less scary than trapeze. Then again, I was one of those gymnasts that would do ANYTHING in a harness, yet do nothing once it was removed.
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