Life As I Know It: Maui: Haleakala Sky Line Tours (aka "Zip Line Fun!")

The Sky Line Tours zip line (http://www.skylinehawaii.com/) is a great way to spend a couple of hours on a sunny (or rainy) afternoon. Groups of 10 -15 thrill-seeking tourists gather and put their lives in the hands of a couple of wise-cracking guides in an effort to "cheat death" as only a fool-hardy group of casual strangers can...

You have to book pretty far in advance, so the Saturday afternoon we chose (way back in January) turned out to be a bit drizzly (which was a big improvement over the series of drenching downpours that we'd had during the morning). In fact, the weather was so crappy that morning, we called to see if we could reschedule for another day. That's when we discovered that they were booked "until April 15th..."

So, on that rainy afternoon, all five of us (Tai, Wade, Terry, Linda, and me) met at the zip line shack for an afternoon of adventure.

After gearing up, we were ready to go. Thank God they didn't have any mirrors, so we had no idea just how dorky we looked! (The guys, however, were quite aware of the positive visual effect that the harness had on their manhood...)

So, one by one, we all took the leap off of a series of progressively higher, longer, and more daunting zip line "trails." Although it's perfectly safe, it's still a thrill to throw yourself off of a platform that's 50 - 100 feet off the ground, and then fly hundreds of yards across 150 foot high gullies at 35+ mph. (It bears noting, however, that the guides are not allowed to tell patrons that the zip lines are "safe"...)

Photos of us zipping through the air don't do the experience justice. As I've said, we were going fast, were pretty high above the ground on a lot of them - and, of course, we had to steer.

At 63, my dad is a trooper! He lept off each platform with gusto and without hesitation - proving that even "old guys" can do it! (Little did we know at the time, but he was a bit "weak in the knees" on a few of the more challenging leaps.)

Here's Wade taking the plunge. Don't let the look of pain (or is that sheer terror?!) on his face fool you! He loved it and had a great time.

Wade, Tai and Dani on the "other side" of one of the zip line trails.

Tai posing with one of the guides. Like I said, they were absolutely hilarious! But, even though they were cracking jokes most of the time, they definitely put "safety first."

Here's the last dive of the day - over 1000 feet across a huge ravine. On this one, you actually get up to speeds of over 35 mph... and even more if "gravity" is on your side (if you know what I mean)!