Vacation trip includes zip-line flight

In Juneau, Alaska, my two friends and I were the "California Girls" to our young guides who escorted us to a platform in the forest where our adventure began.

We wondered if the event of a lifetime up steep dirt stairs would produce a heart attack or an adrenalin-pumping thrill. Fortunately, we novices, whose years of seasoned fortitude-mustered courage prevailed, made it without incident to the first platform and a long cable suspended 200 feet above a series of canyons.

"Who's going first," our handsome guide called out when it was our turn.

Oh, let them go first," I said, pointing to one of my friends. Desire to fly safely was certainly in the forefront of my mind, but caution closely followed.

Not really knowing what this thrill was going to be like, we were all overwhelmed with a blend of anticipation and fear about this unknown sport.

Zip-lining is a big deal in Alaska and some of the tropical vacation sites. They call it the "Canopy Tour," and if you enjoy adventure, you don't want to miss out on the feeling of soaring feet-first through the forest suspended in mid air by a climber's rope attached to a steel cable. There were about nine sections of cable that started at a higher elevation and continued downward about 900 feet altogether. The first section of the 900 feet felt like grease lightning, zipping along to a tree. A gloved hand putting pressure on the cable behind the rolling trolley was our braking system as we approached the next platform.

A steady hand on the top of the trolley was the steering method that kept our legs and feet pointed straight ahead. A twist of our hand one way or the other and our legs followed one way or the other. As novices, we dared not play with that concept. Our veteran guides, however, twisted and turned and spun around like acrobats dancing their routine in motion, before straightening out at the last minute.

At the last platform, each of us in the group of about seven or eight rappelled on a rope to the ground about 20 feet below.

Once we returned to the staging shack where our tour started, a photograph recorded the event and we received medals for bravery and achievement.

At dinner aboard the cruise ship later that night, we donned our medals and shared the experience with the rest of our group who had gone in different directions that day.

I probably wouldn't have gone on this late summer canopy tour if my curiosity hadn't been sparked on another vacation - an earlier spring trip to Costa Rica.

Sitting by the pool at an all inclusive resort, my attention was directed to a buzzing sound that seemed to come from the air. It sounded like a gigantic mosquito moving quickly across the pool.

"What was that," I asked my friend sitting next to me. She didn't know. By then both of our curiosities beckoned a second look when the buzzing happened again. It was indeed a person flying through the air about 30-40 feet above the swimming pool. There was no motor propelling this person, only gravity carried the daredevil from a higher point beyond the pool at one end to a lower point at the other end.

Fascinating enough to watch, zip-lining had to be far more than a spectator sport and I knew I had to try it at some time in the future.

I had already taken the whitewater tour instead of the canopy tour for some reason, so it had to wait. The whitewater trip was an adventure of its own on Costa Rica's Colorado River. Each of us on the tour had a guide in the back of our kayak, but we were the skipper. If we got in trouble, our guide bailed us out.

This adventure was perfect if I had only not done one stupid thing. At the halfway point, we stopped for a break. There was a rope dangling from a tree that our guides were using to swing out over the deep pool then let go and crash into the water.

Of course, I had to try it. All went well until I plunged into the water and forgot to breathe out. The force of the water up my nose into my sinus cavity produced a burning sensation that lasted the rest of the day - so much for re-living a foolish folly of youth.