I Remember When...: Pegs Went Zip Lining

Costa Rica, March 30, 2011

After she got her first cancer diagnosis, Pegs decided to make a lot of lifestyle changes: cutting out sugars and processed foods, limiting her use of and contact with chemical products, reducing stress, etc. She even considered getting a tattoo, which was something she had never been interested in before; she later liked to joke that she had all the tattoos she needed after she got her radiation treatment markers (little permanent dots they put on to indicate where the radiation needs to be delivered each session). After her first recurrence, she was more determined than ever to implement positive lifestyle changes, and that included being open to new experiences. Little did she know that she would get an opportunity while we were in Costa Rica for Vanessa's wedding to have a new life experience that many consider thrilling, dangerous and/or nauseating. No, I'm not talking eating about the local cuisine; I'm talking about zip lining.

Although we weren't in the high mountainous areas known for its lush rainforests, there were still opportunities to go zip lining through the local foothills. One day Pegs, Damien and I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try, so we signed up for what the locals called a "canopy tour" the next morning. Everything was proceeding according to plan until the end, when one of the guides decided he would have some fun with the ladies in our group. At one landing point he started shaking the line, which caused the person coming down the line to shake violently up and down. Needless to say, this was not particularly appreciated by Pegs, who was secretly more than a bit nervous to be zip lining to begin with. Notwithstanding this minor hiccup, I think that Pegs genuinely enjoyed her zip lining experience. It was and will remain a highlight of our last family trip, and I hope you enjoy zip lining with us vicariously through these videos.