Nature Girl

So here's the truth:  I am not extremely adventurous. In fact, I would say, I'm not even a little bit adventurous. I am not the girl that goes camping or hiking or mountain biking or scuba diving......BUT I have always wanted to be that girl. I am; however, a list maker, and I have made numerous Bucket Lists along the way that include some variation on the theme: Be More Adventurous. 

The people that we vacationed with in Costa Rica however, are extremely adventurous!! They all woke up before 6:30am each morning to work out, and they filled every waking minute with some sort of physical activity. I decided early on, that I was not going to be the girl who refused to participate, who wimped out and sat on the sidelines. Instead, I sucked it up and tried some of the scariest things I had ever tried. The group took to calling me "Nature Girl" after I told them that the only nature-y thing I do is drive my SUV out in the country :) 

Everyone could see how difficult it was for me at times to participate in some of the activities, and they were all extremely supportive...even when I opted out of the ATV trip on the last day and when I cried on the zip-line (if you look closely at the above photo, you can see the tell-tell signs of the post-crying red nose).

SO here's what I learned on my Costa Rican Adventure: I am more adventurous than I give myself credit for! There are some things that I have no desire to try (sky diving, for example) and I will not allow myself to be talked into doing anything that I really don't want to do, but I realized on the trip that if I can let go of the fear, and give some things a try, it will be well worth the effort. I actually loved the white-water rafting....just enough adventure combined with sheer beauty. The zip-lining, on the other hand, is something I can simply check off the list = been there, done that, don't need to do it again.