go ape!

while i don't make a point of setting about new year resolutions (bound to break them before day 1) i do try to find a theme for the year. often it's along the lines of 'be unflappable'. or 'try new things' (cliche) and better yet, 'overcome fear'. little did i know that go ape would sort of tick all three boxes. oh, as an aside, i'm trying to be more mindful this year and to multitask less. like less mindless eating (bad habit of stuffing my face with crisps and cake while watching netflix) and more home-cooking and taking the time to savour my food. go ape came about after i last hung out with A and R (who incidentally i'm eternally grateful to for introducing me to A!) and realised how much i liked being with them. and R suggested i join them for a day of organised fun in cambridge. didn't need to be asked twice! also, i really like camby and hadn't been since Y's graduation easter 2012 so was long over due for a visit. 

probably my fault for not doing due diligence. R made it sound so easy, casually climbing trees in cambridge, yeah i could do that. and A was quick to sweeten the deal with the promise of waffles before we set off climbing. IT WAS HARD and there were points where i was literally screaming. A's got all of it on video that i hope will never see the light of day. what was meant to be a 90min activity ended up taking closer to four hours, although as budgetking R said, we really got our money's worth. also, i hadn't realised it wouldn't actually be in cambridge but tetford. but never fear, there was space in the car for one more and A & R's friends were kind to let me hitch a ride.

at the end of it all i.e. after we were very embarrassingly asked to let the stag group of twelve overtake cos we were just too slow, we made a pit stop at maccas on the way back to camby (yay to 20pc mcnuggets and apple pies!) before having dinner at the smokehouse. now i've been to many smokehouses but this was one of the best. the southern fried chicken was so juicy, even the white meat wasn't dry! and the ribs perfect. drooling just thinking about it and would actually make the over hour long commute to cambridge just for a meal there.