I Want to Zipline! What's Your Fantasy Adventure?
[image error]Today's paper had an article on all the places to zip line in North Carolina. I love anything that gets me up in the air, so the article really got me excited. I have a feeling I'll never get to zip line, though. I'm not sure it's the best activity for someone with funky joints, but I can dream.
It reminds me of my hang gliding adventure years ago. In Keeper of the Light, I'd written about the Outer Banks' beautiful Jockey's Ridge, where hang gliders sail above the enormous dunes. It looked effortless and I knew I wanted to try it. I'm so unathletic, though. The flying itself wasn't my problem. It was the carrying-the-glider-while-trying-to-get-a-running-start-in-sand that presented the snag. My friends had a good laugh at my expense, but I did get airborne for a short flight across the sand. I'll never forget that weightless and wonderful feeling.
Zip lining, though? Not sure. How about you? What is it you long to do?
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I've lived my fantasy adventure since 1983 when I moved from a tiny rural Iowa town to San Diego and experienced all of the culture shock, joy and differences. By 1990, after surviving a series of interesting events that would have never happened in Iowa. I managed an apartment complex (that's a whole book, including the guy who was making meth and the undercover couple for whom the SD PD rented an apartment. I worked for a private detective, was swept off my feet in a romance and engagement to a man I met through the personal columns. Then when he developed cancer, I cared for him at home until his death. When the fog cleared, I stumbled into another life-changing move while on vacation in central Mexico's beautiful city of roses, Guadalajara and moved in 1990 to a small fishing village which has been attracting US and Canadian retirees with adventure in their soul since the 1950s.
Here I've dabbled my way through several careers and another relationship and ended up completing my dream formulated at age 7 when the Brownies visited the local newspaper office. The soft clatter of the lineotype machines, the rumble of the press, the smells of the paper and ink have been with me these 60 years and the jobs I had at three newspapers along the way.
I now am editor of a monthly English language magazine and for 10 years have owned and edited my own online magazine, Living at Lake Chapala which is aimed at providing good solid information for people who are thinking of relocating here and those who have made the move.
It's funny how we look in awe at the adventures of others -- NEVER would I zipline or parachute or backpack across iowa, let alone Europe. Yet, all alone, I packed up my car and moved to the middle of Mexico on the basis of 2 weeks there and because if "felt right -- like I'd come home."
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My fantasy adventure would probably be backpacking through Europe or skydiving. I may someday do the Europe trip (although I may be too old to backpack it by the time I get there), but I'm afraid I'll never have the guts to willingly jump out of a perfectly good and fully operational plane.