50 for 50: 13 -- Zip-lining with Derek!

I'm wiped.

I am so wiped.  It'll be super-impressive if I get to the end of this post without falling asleep on my Chromebook, but I feel like I need to 'blog this weekend before I forget how I feel.

Which is exhausted.  And satisfied.

When I started the 50 for 50 trips, my sister called, reviewed some items on the list, and said she wanted "Zip-lining."  But at dinner tonight, she claimed something else from the list, so we decided that Zip-lining would officially be Derek's.

We wanted the "Sunset" zip-lining tour in Boulder Canyon, outside of Vegas.  Unfortunately, it wasn't as sunsetty as we'd hoped.  Also, this was a "special" tour they needed four people for -- so we ended up putting this one together for this weekend in particular, since Cousin Roni and I were planning to meet in Vegas anyway.  With Joyce and Derek coming in, this was starting to look Super Fun!

We met last night for dinner once we'd all gotten in.  I'd also picked up a Groupon (yay) for the Ice Bar here, which seemed like a fun idea, but a somewhat LESS fun one when I realized we were all wearing flip-flops.  Joyce didn't last that long in there -- but she was a good sport in the freezing weather -- and we got some good pictures and had a drink and a laugh or two.

(I actually consumed TWO drinks that night.  For what might have been the second time in my life.  Derek was impressed.  I was pretty amused that I've gotten this far without being actually DRUNK, but now didn't seem like the time to push that particular envelope.)

And I slept well.  Really well.  Roni and I just hung in the room in the morning for a couple hours -- didn't do much except a little gambling.  (The "Simpsons" machine was pretty good to her.)  Then we met up with Joyce for lunch, and Derek afterward (he'd had work to do) for the Uber out to the Zip-line place.

Fun fact:  the Zip-line people were super nice, providing water pretty much EVERYWHERE (coolers at each platform), joking with us all the way, but generally being right on top of safety.

Slightly less fun fact:  To actually zip-line, you take a bus up to the top of the mountain.  Except it isn't to the top.  And you're supposed to walk that last 15 minutes.  While wearing your harness.  And carrying the heavy metal trolley that hangs over the zip line.  I could barely hold the trolley, much less hike in 110 heat, uphill, carrying one.  The zip line guys took my trollery.  And, at one point on the way up the hill, offered to stop and carry me.  Clearly, I am not in the best shape ever.  (Another couple was on the tour with us, and they speculated that it was because of the elevation and heat -- and not beause I'm wildly out of shape.  They're my new best friends.)

The zip-lining was super fun!  Four lines, one as long as a half mile.  Two dipped down enough that you didn't even need to brake -- gravity gave you enough speed to just make it across.  (Well, that worked for MOST of us.  SOMEONE stopped just before the end of the line and had to be pulled in with the Stick of Shame.)  But it really was spectacularly fun!  I was feeling SPENT from the hike up to the lines, and possibly a little nauseous from drinking too much water while trying to stay hydrated -- but as soon as I actually went down the first line, I felt GREAT!

(We skip here the Uber back to the hotel, which was my second Uber ever, and first possibly insane Uber driver.  She got us here, but she had issues.  Many issues.  Makes you think you've got a to be a special kind of crazy to want to drive tourists around Vegas without actually going to the trouble of getting a taxi license.)

I adore zip-lining.  If you ignore the Unfortunate Hike, it's a great deal of fun for very little physical outlay of energy.  I'm totally into that.  And I was so touched that my sister and brother flew out for this ... AND that I got a weekend with cousin Roni.

Yayyyyy!!!