I don’t really have a “bucket list” but I do like having new experiences and adventures. I can now say that I’ve tried ziplining! Last year I saw a video of a friend from vent camp who went ziplining at Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park and I immediately wanted to try too! I’d been interested in going ziplining for awhile and was super excited to learn that the staff at the Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park were experienced in adaptive outdoor activities. In addition to adapting the zipline experience, they also have archery, a rock climbing wall, luge, and accessible trails in the woods. After contacting the staff at the park and confirming they could accommodate my needs I bought tickets for this past weekend.
On Friday afternoon my parents and I loaded up the van and headed to Muskegon! The trip was uneventful and we got to the hotel around dinner time. To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the hotel. When checking in we were told the indoor pool and hot tub were closed. The lobby area was dark; I did okay but definitely not ideal for someone with low vision. Finally, and this probably seems minor, even though we had a wheelchair accessible room, the toilet paper holder in the bathroom was soooooo high up on the wall. Even my parents had to reach high up to get the toilet paper. It didn’t seem like a very good accessibility design choice.
But alas, we made it work. After unpacking we ate dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. Then we walked along the water for awhile and also explored a nearby park.
Saturday morning we got up and headed to a small bagel place called Brooklyn’s Bagels. After fueling up on bagels and muffins we headed over to the sports park! All up until this point I’d been excited about doing this but I’ll admit I started to get nervous…
My parents were probably nervous too but also excited. When we got there the staff was immediately super friendly and welcoming. This helped my nerves a bit. They went over all of the safety features of the zip line’s harness system and then we got suited up! One of the accommodations they offer is the use of an “easy seat” which provides more support. The downside is that it added another set of harnesses – so many ropes! After getting all that on, I transferred into their manual chair, affectionately called “Breezy” in honor of the person who donated the chair. The staff loaded us onto a golf cart type vehicle and drove us to the top of the zip line.
I was then hoisted up to the tippy top of the platform using a pulley system. Two people can go at a time; both times I went next to my mom. My dad was the first one to go and it was pretty cool to see him go down the line! Then it was time for me and my mom to go! She had to actually step off the platform whereas the staff kinda just pushed me to get going. I think stepping off would be a lot scarier!
The first run, while using the easy seat, I was pretty comfortable. The staff warned me that because I couldn’t hold onto the handles which helps keep you facing forward I might end up going sideways/backwards at times. They were right! It was neat though! At the bottom of the line a staff member was ready and waiting to grab me. He then lowered me to the ground using the pulley system and I transferred to Breezy again. Then we got back in the golf cart and rode back to the top to do it all again!
The second run I decided to try it without the easy seat. The staff assured me they felt I had enough core strength and I might like it better because there would be less “stuff” on me. I was feeling brave so I went for it! This time it did feel like I went faster, but I wasn’t as comfortable. The harness hit my back right on/by my spinal curve. I was also tilted backwards more so I mainly saw the tops of the trees and sky instead of looking around or down. But that was still a pretty cool view.
After completing the second run we headed back to where we started. We got all our gear off and took a quick break before deciding to give the trail quest challenge a go. I had fun chatting all about Disney with one of the workers during this break – prompted by the stickers on my wheelchair.
Another very cool part about the park is that they have an Action Track wheelchair. That thing is intense! We got the trail quest crossword puzzle form and headed in the woods. The bummer though is the knats wouldn’t leave us alone so we opted to head back pretty quickly. I think it would have been neat to do more though because the chair could definitely handle the woods and throughout the trail were riddles you had to solve to complete the crossword puzzle. But oh well.
After returning the Action Track chair we said goodbye to the staff and headed off to grab a late lunch/early dinner.
We ate at a restaurant called The Deck which was right on the beach. The food was fine; it was definitely a place you go for the vibe. People were playing volleyball, hanging out on the beach and we saw a number of dogs with their humans. 🙂 After eating we walked to a lighthouse that was right there. The bad part is it started raining so we got pretty wet walking back to the van. It was still cool to see all the big boats on the water though.
When we got back to the hotel I ended up laying down on my vent for most of the night. I was worn out and sore! I wasn’t that surprised – I had expected to “crash”. Luckily my parents felt comfortable leaving me in the room and they went for a walk while I rested.
Sunday morning we packed up and headed back home. We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast, then in Brighton to get some things from the lake house, and then finally arrived back in Dearborn. All in all, it was a great weekend! Even though I’m still sore today (Tuesday), it was definitely worth it. 🙂
