As Kim just blogged, we went to the mountains for Apple Festival -- for the fourth year running.
Amanda was disappointed last year that she couldn't do the ropes course, and this year, as a great big five-year-old, nothing was going to keep her away.
This involved a lot of waiting. First, waiting for over an hour and a half before starting climbing. Then she climbed a free rope ladder with rungs about half as far apart as she is tall, to a platform about dozen feet off the ground. Once she got there, we discovered that the "lobster claws" she was wearing were not long enough to read the safety wire, so she had to wait while they changed her over to a different set. Walking a pair of beams never seemed hard to Ella or to me, so it didn't surprise me that Amanda did fine. The bigger surprise was that she never fell off the high wire, and in fact didn't seem to have to use her hands very much -- good balance. She wanted a helping hand before she jumped across a two-foot gap. She then had to wait patiently again during the transfer to the zipline while they removed her lobster claws in order to hook her up to the zipline, but once she was hooked in she was ready to jump, and went flying down the zipline joyfully laughing. The only disappointment was that there wasn't time to do it again.
Ella was quite independent. For example, she says that while I was on the rope course following Amanda, she asked if she could go back to camp on her own. She decided, it seems, that a lack of response indicated approval, and so she nipped off through the woods alone for a half-mile or so hike back to the main lodge. (She made it fine, but neglected to bring her Crocs and her climbing harness bag with her, and once she got to the lodge, dumped her climbing harness on the ground near the fire. There are limits to her independence still. :)
Since Ella and Amanda both listed the ropes course as their favorite part of the trip, Kim might not get her wish that they'll go hiking instead next year. Ella did the night hike Saturday night, though.
Amanda was disappointed last year that she couldn't do the ropes course, and this year, as a great big five-year-old, nothing was going to keep her away.
This involved a lot of waiting. First, waiting for over an hour and a half before starting climbing. Then she climbed a free rope ladder with rungs about half as far apart as she is tall, to a platform about dozen feet off the ground. Once she got there, we discovered that the "lobster claws" she was wearing were not long enough to read the safety wire, so she had to wait while they changed her over to a different set. Walking a pair of beams never seemed hard to Ella or to me, so it didn't surprise me that Amanda did fine. The bigger surprise was that she never fell off the high wire, and in fact didn't seem to have to use her hands very much -- good balance. She wanted a helping hand before she jumped across a two-foot gap. She then had to wait patiently again during the transfer to the zipline while they removed her lobster claws in order to hook her up to the zipline, but once she was hooked in she was ready to jump, and went flying down the zipline joyfully laughing. The only disappointment was that there wasn't time to do it again.
Ella was quite independent. For example, she says that while I was on the rope course following Amanda, she asked if she could go back to camp on her own. She decided, it seems, that a lack of response indicated approval, and so she nipped off through the woods alone for a half-mile or so hike back to the main lodge. (She made it fine, but neglected to bring her Crocs and her climbing harness bag with her, and once she got to the lodge, dumped her climbing harness on the ground near the fire. There are limits to her independence still. :)
Since Ella and Amanda both listed the ropes course as their favorite part of the trip, Kim might not get her wish that they'll go hiking instead next year. Ella did the night hike Saturday night, though.
Comments