Corn Maze Mania

Football Sundays are back. And so I’m bored for now, as my boyfriend watches the Bears get whooped by the Cowboys. (I hate the Cowboys, btw!) But last night was eventful enough.

#62. Go to a corn maze! – not so interesting, but done none the less.

Boyfriend, his family, and I headed over to Richardson’s Corn Maze. The weather was perfect, it was 50 and dry. Great night for the world’s largest corn maze. Richardson’s has so much to offer, it’s literally 10 minutes from me, and I never even realized it’s potential. My friends have been going there for years, they make the maze into different – incredibly intricate – patterns every year.

We arrived at 8:30, planning to wait for his parents and then go ORBiting. I called ahead and asked what times they did ORBiting, and the answer was all day! Unfortunately, when we got there and were all excited to be shoved off a platform in a giant inflated bubble, the operators had just left. Apparently you have to be certified to strap people in the orb. So, we will have to go back to Richardson’s to go pumpkin picking and “zorbing”.

#68. Zipline – done much sooner than anticipated!

We quickly got over our sadness and signed ourselves up for ziplining. We signed our waivers and nearly ran over to the tower overlooking the corn maze. We walked up the stairs, halfway up the tower, and got all harnessed up. It was pretty snug around my legs, but I was excited. Boyfriend was a little worried about his boys being so close to the tight straps. I found this to be amusing, having no idea how weird that would feel. Boyfriend went first, he walked through the fence door and onto the platform, stood on the red dot, and then jumped right off. I anxiously awaited my turn, 50 feet in the air. I, too, walked onto the platform, got strapped up, and grabbed onto the two holding devices, which looked like thick shoe strings. I asked the teenage boy who worked there what happened if I let go. he said “you fall”. I scoffed, and said “no you do not!” He told me I was the first person to ever say that. He radioed over to the other teenager waiting on the other platform “zipping”…he told me to run and jump. So I did. And I was off and it was so refreshing to be gliding through the air with the wind blowing my hair around. Actually, hey! I needed to get my hair out of my face to see the Christmas trees neatly lined below me. I let go of one shoelace, felt sturdy enough. I let go of both…nothing happened, I didn’t plummet to my death. The harness felt like an uncomfortable seat. It was fun, it was a 50ft in the air, 700ft long beginner zipline for me. More, please!

#80. Pet a goat – childish, smelly, and done.

Much to my surprise, the kids and Boyfriend – acting like a kid – went to test out the pedal go-karts and wait, what’s that smell? Poop and dirty animals? Awesome. Right behind me were several goats wearing dog collars staring right at me. I ran right over and stuck my arms through the fence to pet them. They were super cute, and obviously used to attention. They were sticking their adorable faces out at me waiting to be adored. And so I did. As I kneeled to take a picture with the adorable brown goat, a little black and white one decided to nibble on my hair. Even better. I took the picture, and retrieved my hair from the goat’s mouth. And then I was ready to go home and wash my hands. Mmmm smelly goat fingers.

#. Go hiking – DONE, much to Boyfriend’s dismay.

I have taken on my new mission to torture my boyfriend – and secure my spot as my dog’s favorite owner. I am going to Hike Lake Counties forest preserves to qualify myself for the 2010 Hike Shield. (What the hell I do with it, I have no clue.) My boys, Jay and Junior, even get a dog tag for their efforts, which to them doesn’t seem like effort at all. I love hiking, though hiking in Illinois isn’t exactly that thrilling as compared to other states with more interesting terrains. Hey, I can’t help I’m stuck in the prairie state! (If somebody would like to steal me away, I’d be ok with that!) One down today, seven more to go. Not too shabby.

Life is not long, and too much of it must not pass in idle deliberation how it shall be spent. ~Samuel Johnson