I have never been the physically adventurous type; I don’t ski, skateboard, skydive or whitewater raft. I did play youth soccer, though I tended to be the player furthest from the ball at all times. I was late learning to ride a bike, and although I did have some success on my high school tennis team, tennis isn’t exactly a contact sport. As a result, I had very few childhood trips to the emergency room, but I also have few athletically-oriented memories.
This leads me to my adventure for this week: a trip to Rancho Cordova and a place called Sky High. Think of it as a trampolinists heaven on earth.
Picture areas with trampoline floors separated by little areas of padding, mostly just used to get onto and off the springy surfaces. You can jump from one to the other, bounce off the angled trampoline “walls” and, for the daring souls in the world, do flips and propel yourself into handsprings. It’s like having a backyard trampoline on steroids.
After weeks of trying to find time in our schedules, my friends Michelle, Brittany and I headed for the bouncing heaven last week, determined to see what all the fuss was about. I was somewhat convinced we had built it up so much in our minds that no hour-long trampoline extravaganza could ever live up to the hype. I was wrong.
Forget about the great exercise it provided – they even have aerobics classes – or that it is a fantastic way to be active without putting any pressure on your joints. The trampolines were just plain fun. In a world where it is easy to get caught up in the latest technology or the next big thing, just a room full of giant springs to bounce up and down on is just simple enough to be glorious.
I could make it more complicated, get metaphorical and dig into the deeper meanings of letting go of your inhibitions and flinging yourself backwards hoping to land on your feet. But, I won’t. That’s not what this was about.
Don’t get me wrong, we definitely had to get over any concerns we had about looking stupid because falling was inevitable. We also had to acknowledge that we were 20-somethings at a place with a room specifically designated for little kids‘ birthday parties. So, there was that.
Mostly, though, going to Sky High was just good, old fashioned, entertainment for it’s own sake. We laughed, jumped and generally made fools of ourselves in front of the employees whose responsibility it was to make sure we went home in some semblance of one piece. We were challenged to play dodgeball by a group of guys, tried to bounce off the angled walls without landing awkwardly on the edges of the trampolines and danced to the old school Top 40 tunes blasting from the exercise area next to us.
After the hour was over, we got off and tried to adjust to life back on solid ground. The entire car ride home we couldn’t stop talking about how much fun we had and how this wasn’t going to be our last time bouncing around before graduation.
To anyone looking for a hilarious way to spend an hour, try Googling “Sky High Sports“ in Sacramento and thank me later.
I recommend bouncing without shoes; I found it freeing and less restrictive. Ladies: no skirts, no flowy shirts, don’t forget a hairband, and I suggest either yoga pants or jeans that fit you well enough so that they don’t fall down. Bad news, babe!
In addition, allow me to recommend a few songs that my friends and I found particularly appropriate for both getting pumped up and reliving the hilarity on the way home. If you’re anything like we are (i.e. you live your life to a soundtrack), I’m certain you will find these worthy of the occasion, and extraordinarily fun to crank up in the car and sing at the top of your lungs: “Bouncing Off the Walls Again” by Sugarcult and “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba.
All you need is great friends, a mode of transportation and the ability to let go of any inhibitions you may have about jumping around in front of complete strangers, and you too can be bouncing off the walls!
EMILY KAPLAN has “Concrete Bed” by Nada Surf stuck in her head. E-mail her at eckaplan@ucdavis.edu and tell her what song is in your head.
