My nose was pressed against the airplane windows as I watched San Diego get smaller and smaller. I turned to face my sister, mom and dad and shrieked with joy, we were on our way to Kauai. The pilot announced on the intercom that we were allowed to turn on electronics so I tuned into The Other Woman until I paused to order a sprite from the passing drink cart.

Five hours and twenty-eight minutes later (to be exact) we were getting off the plane and entering the warm, humid air of Kauai. After getting our baggage from the baggage claim, and fetching our rental car, we were on our way to the hotel.

Once we arrived to our room, we headed down to check out the pool and the ocean. The pool was an awesome fade out pool, but the ocean was too rough to swim in. We weren’t used to the time change yet so we went to bed at seven o’clock.

The next day we woke up and went snorkeling right down the road, we packed a lunch then had a picnic at the beach. That afternoon we went  back to the pool, until it was time for dinner. We went out to dinner, then came back and went to bed.

This routine continued until we went snorkeling on a boat tour. Then the next day, ziplining. My sister had decided to come with my dad and I and my mom decided to take a day for herself. The plan was to apply for the seven zip lines and four bridge tour. When we arrived at the zip line place, we waited for the other people who would be coming with us to arrived. Once everyone was accounted for, we all got into a van and we started towards the zip line grounds.

About half an hour later, we got to the grounds. We walked over to “camp” where they harnessed us up and explained how to work the carabiners. My sister and I were under fourteen, so we weren’t allowed to do it for ourselves and our dad had to do it for us.
Next we walked towards the first platform and my dad volunteered to go first. I shook my head violently, hoping that he would get the message that I didn’t want to go at the beginning of the line, but he smiled and kept walking. My sister had made a deal with me and my dad that she would be in the middle of us, so that meant she was second and therefore I was third to walk up the ramp that took us up into the tree line. Once up at the top, I watched as my dad was clipped onto the line. He looked back and gave us a thumbs up then pushed off the platform and I gasped as he began getting smaller and smaller. Next it was my sister’s turn, she clipped in, looked back to give me one last nervous look then closed her eyes and yelped as she stepped off. I watched as she too got smaller and smaller.

Shaking I stepped forward when our guide motioned for me to come to the line. I closed my eyes and as I heard the  latch click connecting me to the cable, I said a small prayer. I looked at our guide and asked “Are you SURE this is safe? Where do I hold onto again?” He calmly reassured me about the safety and pointed at a spot on the line that attached my harness to the cable. “Okay. I can do this.” I said to myself then looked out at the tree line and stepped.

All of a sudden I was soaring through the air, the wind flushing my face. I looked down, then panicking, looked back up as the next platform was growing quickly. The next thing I knew I was running up the landing strip and saying hello to my dad and sister.
I turned around and found myself face to face with a bridge that was one plank of wood followed by a gap then another plank and so on and so forth. I looked back and realized that there was no there way to get to the next platform.

Once everyone had completed the first line we started off in the same order across the bridge, I looked at the planks instead of looking at the gaps, but it was almost impossible to avoid looking at the ground loads of feet below me. Eventually I managed to cross the bridge only to find that, to my horror, there was another one waiting for us before we could go on to the next zip line. I crossed it with more ease than the first one, but still shaking.
We completed the rest of the course including a tree-60, by pushing off a tree in the middle of the line and spinning in a full circle. Another cool aspect of the course was the swings hanging off the side of the fifth platform that only my sister and I went on. On the last line I even had the courage to go first!

After everyone had finished the last line, we all walked back to camp and took a break with the snacks and drinks that were provided. Then we all climbed back into  the van that took us back to the store, where we got into our car and drove back to the hotel.
At the hotel we relaxed, went out to dinner, then went to bed. We went snorkeling the next day and fell back into our routine that we had set when we had first gotten there. Before I knew it we were on our way home in a plane watching Kauai get smaller and smaller. By stepping off that platform I faced my fear and because of that I had the time of my life. Sometimes you just have to face your fears, otherwise you don’t know how bad they really are.