It would seem that each of us has an age or a date of time in mind that we "should have" or "should own" certain things by. There are some ages that we mark in our minds such as "turning 30, or 40, or 50, or 60 etc." There comes a point that you either give up or just decide that now is the time and you wont wait any longer on maybe's. This weekend was an early celebration with my BFF (Tiny). We all loaded into the vehicle and headed to Pigeon Forge, TN, the destination of the only "zorb" facility in TN. Of course, Tiny had all the maps, hotels, dining arrangements, gps navigation, sites and happenings mapped out — she's really in the wrong business. She will be turning 40 July 12 and this was one of the things on her "bucket list." As she easily admits and sometimes brags, "You (I) have been there everytime she has almost died;" so of course, I opted in again for another great adventure.
Our history is littered with great adventures. Over several dining occassions and during the drive, we retold some of our funniest stories to my highly entertained wife Pickle. Of course they were all funny ...at least now. Zorbing would be another great adventure that we would all remember. Tiny was completely committed to this event. We were often second guessing the weather conditions and the chilly temperature; but she would not be deterred. The three and a half hour drive went easily by over laughs and stories.
Upon arrival: I drove down the winding road along the massive hill. I knew the butterflies now laughing in my stomach were paying attention to the size of the hill. In the distance, we could all see a row of 4 large zorb balls. As we drove closer to the base camp, it was obvious that the hill reached deeply down into the valley, which meant that ball was going to be rolling FAST! Even better; they were taking photos that we could also purchase at the end. It was pretty funny watching the 3 of us jump through a tiny hole into a bubble inside a bubble; but we did it. Once we were all in, they added about two gallons of warm water and closed the hatch. Now there was no turning back; all the chicken was fried. I heard us each inhale deeply as the ball was rolled backward then shoved over the hill. Yeeehhaaaa!!!!!! Nashville coming thru!!! Three giggling friends are transported back to childhood while the roll down a hill with their arms interlocked. What a celebration. We couldn't wait to see the pictures commemorating the turning of 40! Unfortunately, there were no pictures; we had only our memories. The photographer had accidentally erased them in the transfer from camera to computer. I asked her to check twice. I saw the people before and after; but no us. We were bummed. I STRONGLY suggest that you leave nothing to chance, take your own photos as backup. They offered to send us back down the hill; but it wouldn't have been the same. Besides we were now dry. Matching t-shirts might have been nice; but they seemed slightly unconcerned. :( So off to the next adventure...
There's a great quote "Get busy living or get busy dying..." delivered by Morgan Freeman in one of his best movies....and thats what we did. To make the moment even more memorable; a very nice guy from The New York Times was there to interview us and catch it all on film. Boy, am I glad my hair wasn't all over my head. We still have minature hopes of seeing some clip that will make us laugh beyond the memories.
Of course we went on to other things. Eating, laughing and then to the WonderWorks, an exercise for the mind. Oh boy....we had a
blast. We walked through this rotating tunnel to get in and all got stupid dizzy, hanging on to the rails as if we could fall thousands of feet (maybe 12 inches in reality); what an illusion! We did everything we could fit on. The most fun was a two seated bicycle that you could pedal and go upside down in a 360 spin; kinda like a circular rollercoaster. The girls did virtual rides while I looked at some Echer prints and met some new people. I could hear their squeals most places I walked; they were having a blast. Needless-to-say; a lot more people got in line after them. It was a great weekend. ...boy, wait til we turn 50!!!!!!
Saturday was a blur other than great quality time with sweetie and a killer workout that I am just now beginning to have soreness relief. Sunday, of course was Easter. We watched a tremendous program at church and had a great meal with the kids. No holiday is complete without gummy bears! Even the meal was non traditional....italian chicken spaggetti with green beans, mashed potatoes, blueberry muffins, corn and portebello mushrooms. Ahhh....I gotta get back to the gym.
mouth. "Good," I retorted with my own smirk, "that sounds real to me. I'm in." I was told to be prepared for anything; miracles, drunks and wonder! Dress down and prepare to serve and share...what a cutline. Anyway, I am sure it will be food for a note-worthy blog later. I did find this 