Not every woman in her 60s thrills at the thought of whizzing through the air on a zip line. But my mom does. Of course, I invite them both to tag along. Despite her initial gusto, she calls me ahead of time with lots of questions: How fast do you go?
How do you slow down? What are you going to wear? Are there alligators? Her nerves calm in the deep quiet of the night before, watching shooting stars from the purple azalea and pine tree-lined shore of Lake Jacksonville at the Horseshoe Inn Bed and Breakfast, where hosts M. The next morning at the zip line course, we suit up in harnesses for our first ride, a warm-up run dubbed Last Chance by owners Annette and Billy Kimbrell.
With the all-clear signal from head guide Mark Halsey at the end of the line, Mom carefully steps off the platform into the nothingness of thin air and lets it zip.
She leans back, stretches out her legs and fearlessly looks aroundโand downโtaking in the forest, warm sunshine and iron-rich soil below. The zipping sound fades as she slows at the end where Halsey brings her to a complete stop. The six lines before the end run have names that can be hollered.
Halsey, who always goes first so he can man the end platform and aid our landings, introduces each zip line and then flings himself into the air, bellowing out the corresponding cry. Make reservations. Schedule your own zip line adventure at Adrenaline Rush Zip Line Tour in advance by calling Visit daretozip. Call for directions. The roads are windy and not always paved or marked in remote East Texas, so call ahead for turn-by-turn directions and descriptions of landmarks.
