Adventure!

Last week, Pat and I went to the US National Whitewater Center for the day. I purchased an all-day pass for the two of us as an anniversary gift to Pat. We had not had this much fun since our honeymoon, seriously! We got there around 11am and did the MegaZip twice. I forgot my camera, but here are some pictures I google imaged of the things we did. 

We were so nervous at first! Jumping off that ledge will get your adrenaline going at 11am! It was so much fun, by the end of the day, we zip-lined 3 times. After that, we snuck out to our car to eat some lunch. You are not allowed to bring ANY food or drink inside the center, and if they catch you eating in the parking lot, they will say something to you, so we sat in the Jeep and ate our PB&Js quickly. 

Then it was time for the highlight of the day: Rafting. This was SO much fun. Pat and I (well, really just Pat) volunteered to be a part of the "adventurous" group of rafters. We were placed in the VERY FRONT of the raft, much to Pat's joy and my fear. We were soaked within 1 minute of being on the raft, as the guide thought it would be neat to teach us what it meant to "surf" the rapids. That is, going front first into the rapid you just went down so that the raft and your face and entire body become engulfed in the rapid, while you and the raft stay afloat. We did class II-IV rapids multiple times over the course of about an hour and a half. No one fell out, despite the guide telling us he tried to tip us over! 

We were exhausted after rafting, but there was no time for lolly-gagging. Next we tackled a couple of ropes courses. We started with the more tame of the two, the Adventure Course. 

Pat has a bit of a fear of heights, so this was a challenge for him. I had to go first and lead the way. He did great! This ropes course is 20 feet above ground. Next we tackled the more ominous 65 foot ropes course. Pat was more comfortable with this after having completed the Adventure Course with flying colors. 

You are literally walking in the trees! At the end of this course, you got to zip line 250 feet through the forest to your final destination, land. So much fun. After completing this course, we were totally zonked. We thought it was time for dinner, so we decided we would head back home (only a 10 minute drive), eat, shower and head back for the evening to enjoy some live bluegrass music and an ice cold bev or two. When we got in the car, it was only 3:55pm! We had packed so much into our day, we thought it was at least 5:30pm! A shower, dinner and a short nap later, we headed BACK to USNWC. The air was crisp, and rapids were still flowing and the music was delightful.  I highly recommend to anyone and everyone that you spend the money for an AllSport pass to USNWC. Do it once a year with your signif other or a group of people you enjoy hanging out with. We are DEFINTIELY doing this again next year!