Ecotour's Ziptrek Fantasy of a Lifetime

With only one weekend left until the world leaves us, it was time for my groovy group of friends to hit downtown Vancouver and check out the free Olympic events.

Dawn wanted to try the Ziptours Ecotrek Zip Line which runs precariously between Robson Square and the Vancouver Art Gallery, or what was now the BC Pavilion. We decided to take turns standing in the six hour lineup, so that no one person would miss any of the cool happenings around town.

Kevin and I were it, so we were the first to stand in the 2000 person lineup. Kevin held his dog Fifi in her own pink soft leather pet taxi. I was a bit embarrassed that someone had the audacity to take their poor dog out in the chaos, but Fifi seemed perfectly content to be by his side.

"Call us if the line suddenly gets closer to riding", Jessica said as she headed off with Dawn and Maureen, my fellow modelling partners.

"Too bad you can't model some groovy outfits, while riding the zip line," Kevin said to me.

I had no intention of flinging myself through the air at 200 kilometres per hour, dangling from one tiny wire. Kevin set me straight and said it was actually only 10 kilometres per hour, with four safety wires attached. Oh really?!

We weren't lined up more than ten minutes when an Olympic Zip Line crew member dashed up to the two of us, handing us free "I survived the Zipline t-shirts".

"Come with me", he said. Our fellow line mates gaped in awe as we were led to the front of the lineup! Wait a minute I'm not doing this! Hellllp! "Quick call Dawn, Jessica and Maureen! Get them here now", I begged.

There was no time. They made me put on my "I survived the Zip Line" t-shirt. The crew helped us on with our gear and harnesses and helped us climb up to the top of the tower.

One, two, three, we were given a push and away we went! We soared over the heart of Vancouver. I saw flashes of colours before my eyes, at least when I had them open.

My white gogo boots went flying off but that's ok I got them back later. My necklace flew up in my face as I soared through the sky screaming for what must have been an hour. I landed on the platform on the other side at the same time as Kevin.

We were quickly unstrapped, and told to climb back down the tower.

Kevin got his poodle Fifi back from a crew member. It appeared she had been royally spoiled. We were handed two free jackets and several pins. Wow, what a day!

We popped open our cell phones to tell our friends all about the fun experience they had missed, because they wanted to line up to look at coins!

This was the one Olympic event I'll remember forever! The Zip Line closes on the 28th, so get there now, before you miss out on your chance of a lifetime.