Sunday, August 2, 2015

Vertical Ventures St. Pete

What do I do with my 4 kids on a rainy day? I take them climbing, of course! My kids' happy place is climbing our tree, but our grass is soggy and the tree is probably slippery, plus it starts raining again and in order to watch them, not only are they dirty, but I get dirty and muddy too. I needed a break. Vertical Ventures to the rescue! 

We ALL had to sign waivers but then could roam free! There are 3 main areas besides the members only American Ninja Warrior type gym. A wall where every other "station" has a self pulley thingy for everyone and anyone. There's a free climb area where no harnesses are needed since the walls are not high and the floor is a thick crash pad. Down some stairs is the really tall walls where climbers can really climb, like by adding their own clips to the wall. That area is for advanced climbers only although I saw a kid climbing. I know they have classes so I'm sure my kids would love a chance at that too! Vertical Ventures St. Pete is really big and open and inviting. 

I got 3 of these "1 hour quick climb" passes from a new friend, Dylan, and used them right away. So fun! The boys let me have time to climb too by watching Julia [run all over the big open gym-type area]. Dylan and Isaac learned how to click in by themselves since Julia was a handful for me. I liked watching them, of course, my little monkeys, but didn't really have to. I felt safe. The funny thing, when Julia's running around slowed down and the boys could hold her, I took a turn up the tall wall. I knew in my had that I could just let go and the rope would let me glide/fall down, but I was scared to actually let go! I started climbing back down until my kids heckled me into trusting it like I did for them. I want to go again, without kids! This would be such a fun date. There were groups of teens having good wholesome fun there, I ran into a friend who goes out to real mountains to climb and he was there before we were and was going hard still when we were ready to say goodbye. This place is the real deal! They say it's 5x larger than the Vertical Ventures in Tampa and it's still new. I got the inside scoop that the reason they're closed on Mondays is that's they clean all of the grip thingies and change the courses. My friend who works there wasn't there when we got there b/c he was working in the evening, but guess what, he came in just to climb and play before his shift! THAT'S how fun it is! Would you go in to your job while off the clock? I recommend this place! My dental office is giving away 2 more passes on Tuesday on the Creating Smiles Dental Facebook page


























This is a pictire of Dylan and Isaac. It's the other Dylan, my friend, not my Dylan though. :)



He he :) I wanted a picture of all of us so climbed a tiny step or two with Julia in the sling. I'm sure that'd be frowned upon though :)



So click here and play Trivia Tuesday every Tuesday to win fun St. Pete prizes like passes here! (No cash value since they're just business cards, but the quick climb sessions are normally $10 each.)

2 comments:

Aunt Kat said...

What? You can climb with a baby in a sling?? You're basically a certified Pro Mom now. How fun!! :)

julie babcock said...

That looks really fun! It was hard for me to let go the first time is belayed too:)