Are you building memories in nature? Tuesday, it was about 80 degrees in Charlotte, NC. While driving down Wilkinson Blvd. listening to music, enjoying the warm wind blowing through my windows and the cool air from my AC, I felt a hard jerk from my stirring wheel and heard a loud sound. Within seconds my dashboard lit up, showing all four tires of my car and an alert to put air in my rear right tire. I was in a bit of shock because I could not figure out what happened. I pulled to the left lane to observe my tire. Yup! It was flat. I thought WTH just happened? Next, I noticed I was in the left turning lane and needed to pull to a safe location. Once I was safe, I looked at the clock and noticed it was after two pm. I had a four o’clock zip-lining appointment that was an hour and thirty mins from Charlotte. There was no way I would miss that appointment to wait for AAA to arrive one to two hours later, so I did what I had to do. I popped the trunk, took out the spear tire, turned on Facebook Live, and changed my tire. Eleven minutes later, I was on the road heading to Asheboro, NC, to zip-line.
I have never been zip-lining, so I was scared and excited. Once I arrived, I noticed the beautiful trees, two bright blue port potties, and a small wooden cabin. From the gravel, I could not see the zip lines. I walked into the cabin and said hello to a sweet lady who instructed me on waiver signing, gear, and rules. The staff was full of great energy. Next, it was time zip-line. My first push was a little scary, but after gliding through the air, I wanted more. We zip-lined about ten different lines and took a five-minute break at the beautiful Mendenhall Falls along the Richland Creek. The view of the large rocks covered in moss and the sound of the water was breathtaking. Lastly, we zip-lined some more in different locations and crossed about three sky bridges. The longest zip-line was over 1400 feet long! Wow, that was fun. I had a great experience, and I am grateful for the opportunity to embrace the journey of zip-lining and sitting in nature, reflecting on being safe from harm. It would have been easy to compliant, cancel my plans and be mad about my busted tire. I felt nature is healing, and spending time zip-lining and sitting by the waterfall was confirmation of nature’s greatness.
Location:
Richland Creek Zip-lining Canopy Tour LLC, Asheboro, NC 27205