‘Scuse Me While I Kiss The Sky

After turning 21, I’ve found that birthday celebrations usually consist of a bar crawl, or meeting up at a bar, or a dinner-followed up by a night out at the bar. Well personally, it’s a bit “been there, done that” for my taste and that’s why this year, for my 26th ( insert shocked face emoji here) we decided to get out of our comfort zone and check out Treeumph located in Bradenton. I had been hearing about this magical place high above the ground that combines an obstacle course with ziplines for months now from friends. We thought it would be the perfect place to celebrate my birthday weekend while actually getting some physical activity.

Sunday morning we drove the short 15 minutes from our campground at Lake Manatee State Park to Treeumph! located right off State Road 70. We had checked out the website and talked to friends about the “adventure course”prior to our visit but we really had no idea what to expect until we got there. Right when you pull into the parking lot you are able to see people up in the trees working their way through the course. You see the 10-year-old boys overhead and think, “I got this- no problem.” Let me tell you, this place is NO JOKE. Let’s begin our journey shall we…

Before heading to Treeumph be sure to make a reservation. We suggest going on a weekday morning to avoid the crowds and the heat, but we didn’t find that we had to wait too long as they make sure to space out the groups throughout the day. They do request you arrive 30 minutes before your reservation and once you’ve checked in an experienced guide will get you set up in your harness. For an extra $3 you can get unlimited water and gloves. This is something we definitely suggest. This is physical activity, and you will need to keep yourself hydrated! Before they let you loose to roam the sky like some kind of flying squirrel its movie time. I know what you’re thinking, movie time = nap time circa 9th grade health class. False! You will need to pay attention- this is your life in their hands you fools. They go over important safety procedures such as always staying hooked up to the course, keeping your fingers away from the zipline apparatus, and much more. After the video its pop quiz time as we headed over to the harness course.

Once you’re all geared up, you’ve watched the video and passed the harness courses it’s off to the races. There are 5 different courses in the park, and each one gets higher and more difficult. We crossed bridges, climbed through tubes, scaled cargo nets, and ziplined high above the ground as we made our way through the park. Our favorite aspects of the park included the rock climbing wall, rope swings and the skateboard portion where we Silver Surfer styled it from one platform to another. Portions of the course we could have lived without include the toad stool ladder and the rings.

While the boys breezed through this section with all the ease of a spider monkey, Steph decided to cut her journey short while I unfortunately had to bow out with only 4 sections left. (I’ll be back!) One thing I was super impressed with was their system for “rescuing” the climbers (yes, I had to be rescued- Damsel in distress style, complete with 2 princes coming to my rescue on a John Deere Gator) But that’s neither here nor there. If you’re having difficulty, just yell “Guide Guide Guide” and someone will be there to help you shortly. I was very impressed with their system and their owner Kathy even sat with me to make sure I was okay.

The pièce de résistance is the Triumph zipline, a 650 ft. zipline 60 ft. in the air. And while I was unable to participate, I dutifully played videographer for the other’s rides back down to earth. After the day was over it was safe to say we were exhausted. It took us around 3 hours to go through our training and the courses and we had a blast the entire time. I was certainly not let down by the hype our friends had given to Treeumph and am looking forward to making my return and completing the course in its entirety!