Go Ape 2021 Videos (11)

On Saturday, September 25, I got five friends (Sarah, Abbie, Aaron, Brandon, and Cole) together to head to Go Ape at 1:00. I had been planning this outing for four months, with a lot of booking, PayPal, correspondence with Go Ape corporate, and synchronizing schedules. That said, it was worth it! The weather was absolutely beautiful- sunny and warm, yet with a cool breeze in the shade. I decided to wear a jacket for that reason. Sarah agreed with me, but the others decided to dress like summer and take their chances. Sarah and Abbie got to Go Ape before I did at 12:30, and I went with Sarah to the nature building to use the bathroom. We got to look at a lot of neat butterfly displays while we were waiting for the guys to arrive. I also loaned Sarah a pair of gloves. The three of us checked in and I got two t-shirts that I previously ordered. Aaron and Brandon showed up at 12:40, and I gave Brandon a t-shirt I bought for him at the new Old Navy a few days earlier. We waited until 1:00 for Cole to arrive. He showed up at the literal last minute because he got trapped in an elevator and he was speeding from Bloomington to make it to Go Ape. Abbie, by contrast, had a much smoother drive from Fort Wayne and even got there an hour early! I loaned Cole another pair of gloves before we all went to training. We got fitted for harnesses, and somehow, I was the only one who had the weird harness with shoulder straps. During the training, I dropped my sunglasses, and I put them in my pocket because I decided I didn't need them. Also during the training, my neck loudly popped. Aaron leaned over to me and whispered, “That was audible.” Throughout the course, I kept my camera readily available, and Aaron had me covered for additional photos with his iPhone. There are five steps to the course, with each one ending in a zip line. The whole group stayed together for the first two steps, but Abbie and Sarah got ahead by a lot when we started step 3, and the rest of us just kinda hung back, chilled, bantered with each other, and took our time. I have to say that although Aaron, Brandon, and Cole had never met each other before this outing, they got along very well. Aaron had met Sarah, and Sarah and Abbie met before, but that was it. I was impressed how nicely everyone interacted. There were several moments that I was so happy I nearly burst into song, but I stopped myself, much to the guys' disappointment, as they really wanted to hear me sing. Cole and I even had a running gag going of how many seconds it would take each of us to complete a certain aspect of a step. At several points in the course, there was an “easy” choice and a “hard” choice. Cole and I saw right through that- either the choices were reversed regarding levels of difficulty, or both choices were hard. Notably, Cole and I would usually go for the “hard” choice, noting how easy it was. Aaron would always take the “easy” choice, which was often harder. Brandon went 50/50. The final time it happened, though, I opted to go for the “easy” route with Aaron. And this time, “easy” actually meant “easy.” The “hard” route involved a Tarzan swing into a giant net. I didn't like it the first time on step 2 when it was mandatory, so I opted to skip it on step 5 when it was optional. Brandon and Cole had a good time slamming into the net after using the Tarzan swing. With each of the ziplines, Brandon would land on his butt, Aaron would have a running descent, Cole would mix between either, and I would roll around. I was proud of myself for having a running descent on the final zip line. It's harder than it looked! Except on the second zip line, I nearly crashed into a worker cleaning the site. I didn't see her because she was wearing all black. Once we got done, Abbie and Sarah were waiting for us after the final zip line, and they'd finished the course 15 minutes earlier. We got a lot of group pics at the end- by the training course, by the completion sign, and by the cabin once we got our completion certificates. Worth it! By that point, it was 3:20. I told everyone we'd be there until 3:30, so I kinda made them stay those last 10 minutes to talk with each other. Again, worth it, as Aaron, Brandon, and Cole voluntarily asked for each other's numbers before we all departed! Aaron offered to take Brandon to lunch sometime in Fishers by Aaron's work and Brandon's apartment, and Cole even said he could hang out with Brandon at an IU football game if Brandon came down. Win! Sarah and Cole returned the gloves I loaned them. After Aaron, Cole, Sarah, and Abbie departed, I talked with Brandon for another 30 minutes before we left at 4:00. All in all, it was a wonderful day, and one of my best days of 2021!

Видео Go Ape 2021 Videos (11) канала starcharger17