What On Earth Was I Thinking!?!?

Let me tell you about the day in 2007 that I took this picture of the Contemporary Resort. If there were an election held today I could easily be elected president of DUCA. the Dull Uninteresting Club of America. In 2007 I was a 61 year old guy on vacation with my lovely wife at Walt Disney World. For some reason I thought this would be the perfect time to expand my horizons and try something daring – parasailing!! Now you have to understand that prior to this I would not have been allowed to parasail because at 332 pounds I exceeded the weight limit allowed for not just one rider but the total weight allowed even for two riders. In 2006 I made some lifestyle changes and dropped 147 pounds so now I was down to 185 and well within limits. This was the perfect time to give it a try. One other thing I forgot to mention, I have an irrational fear of heights, so this was really expanding my horizons!! But – I figured if I could lose that much weight I could probably handle my height issue if I made up my mind to do it.

I didn’t have to rely on just myself to get through this adventure. The folks from Sammy Duvall’s Watersports Center were among the most encouraging and supportive people I had ever met. They explained exactly what it would feel like, how safe it was, and how it was their responsibility to make sure I enjoyed every moment of the experience. It was because of their support and skill that I was able to stand on the back of the tow boat and be slowly and smoothly lifted into the sky for one of the most exciting and at the same time most peaceful and serene experiences of my life. It also allowed me to see Walt Disney World from a perspective that not a lot of people get to view, 650′ straight up hitched to the back of a speedboat. I was also able to take some pictures that I would have for the rest of my life, like the one below.

There was one time when I became just a bit nervous, when I looked down at the boat that was towing me. Until I looked down, I was so busy taking in the views and doing a lot of internal oohing and aahing that I had forgotten that I was that far up in the air hooked to the back of a speeding boat by a cable. Talk about a reality check!!! I took a look down towards the lake and this is what I saw:

After I told myself that I was already up there and it was calm and just so wonderfully quiet I was able to just relax and enjoy the rest of my tour of Bay Lake. This is an experience that I would encourage anyone with an interest to try, it is soooo worth it!! As my tour ended, I was reeled back in to the boat just as smoothly as when I took off and the crew of the boat said, we only have one question – Would you do it again? All I could say was ABSOLUTELY!! They then said, “that means we did our job the way we were supposed to, thanks!” I didn’t get a chance to do it on our 2009 visit but it is a sure thing for our October 2011 trip. I have all the confidence in the world that this next time will be even better than the first. This time I’m not planning to look down until the end of the ride. Enjoy your next visit to Walt Disney World, we will!!

Ken

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