Hooters, Canyons and the Vissers

Balmer's Tents

The Vissers at Balmers

Our good friends, Dave and Angie Visser, have left us here in Geneva and moved back to Seattle. It has not even been a month since they left, but we already miss them.  As part of saying goodbye, we planned a trip to Interlaken for the weekend, to go canyoning, something Travers and I had done last summer, that the Vissers wanted to experience.

So we got a group together, and all headed up to Interlaken. Taking the train, we arrived Friday night, checked into our tents at Balmer's, and relaxed in the hammocks, by the bar, and by the pool, taking in the large mountains surrounding us. Now if you all remember, this was the site of the mouse incident last summer, when a mouse somehow snuck into my bag and ate an entire corner of a loaf of bread, then snuck back out. So, I was very adamant about not keeping any food out that that could happen again. We kept a cooler zipped shut, and other foods, high up on a table that we knew the mouse could not get to. And thankfully, it worked, as we were completely mouse-free this trip. Phew!

We then headed out to dinner at our friend Mike's favorite restaurant, Hooters!  And to be honest, we were all extremely happy to be going there for dinner, for some tasty wings, fries, and beer.  We had a tasty dinner, enjoying the night night, and made sure we were all back in our tents at a decent hour as we were being picked up at 7:45am the next morning for our big canyoning adventure!

For those that don't know, canyoning is basically walking, jumping, sliding, crawling through this canyon, through the water, sometimes dangling, sometimes rappelling, sometimes bouncing along through the water, over rocks, and down waterslides. Last summer we did the moderate canyon as it was our first time, but this summer we wanted to step up the challenge, so we opted for the more advanced canyon. I was a little hesitant as the guides really emphasize how dangerous it can be, but I knew that I couldn't let Travers go by himself, so I sucked it up and put on a brave face. It was definitely a more challenging canyon, but at the end, we all made it safely through, although I fell down once (on the walk from the car to the start of the canyon....when did I become so clumsy?), and gave myself a bit of whiplash on one jump, while bruising the backs of my legs. But all in all, those were minor injuries, and we were all pumping with adrenaline at the end of the day.

It was a wonderful day, and I think the Vissers enjoyed the adventure, especially as its something you can't easily do in the states. We ended the weekend, with more pool and hammock time at the tents, followed by a delicious mexican dinner in town.  

Sunday was spent with pool time again, and with a few shenanigans by the boys before hopping on a train back to Geneva.  It was an amazing weekend to say goodbye to the Vissers.  We saw them just one more time before they hopped on a plane back to Seattle. Its been strange not having them around, but we know they are happy to be back home, near family and friends, and they will definitely be our life long friends.