We made it out!!!

Have you visited an Escape Room yet?

I am so behind the times that I didn't even know Escape Rooms were a 'thing' here in our small city... until I went with a group of my greatest friends as an outing to start off an evening of fun for Alyx's Bachelorette Party last weekend. My only prior knowledge of Escape Room adventure had been from watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory where some of the gang went to one but I didn't know it was also an actual, real life thing to do. Anyhow, it sounded really fun and for a bunch of beyond COMPETITIVE roller derby girls it was a challenge none of us could refuse!

I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by such greatness in friendship!
(Photo Credit to Tricia)

We were all pretty excited as we met in the parking lot before heading in. A few of the girls had been to Escape Rooms in other cities and the rest of us hadn't any real idea of what to expect... but that's all part of the fun, I think. We spent a few minutes catching up and it was just the biggest treat to again be surrounded by some of the greatest friends and teammates I have been blessed in knowing.

Here we are..  Team Bride ...all set to begin our Escape adventure!

Once everyone was there and pinned-up with our Team Bride buttons and Alyx was all sashed-up in her Bride sash... we were set to go! We were just about to head into 'The Cabin' when the lady leading us to the door turned back to give one of our group members a single and extremely dim-lighted flashlight. Another from our team immediately asked, "Is it dark in there??!" And that's the moment my spirits began to fall... but I was with friends that I trust and feel entirely comfortable with after years of having one another's back, both on and off the roller derby track so I knew that ultimately, I was safe to give even the darkened room a try.

Entering the room was very scary for me (mobility-wise) but as I trustfully followed my friends inside to the waiting darkness I somehow fought the urge to turn back and wait on the outside for them. There was just enough light from the door still open as we filed in and there were tiny slivers of light reflected from the evening sun that found its way just barely in through the one boarded up window to the world outside. Once the door closed and was locked behind us we were in almost complete darkness but for the one flickering flashlight we'd been given and the few minuscule slits through the boards that didn't help us see anything but more offered a slight security...for me, anyhow. I had managed to carefully cross the room upon entry and found a small space to stand against the back wall beside the boarded window where I was safe from falling in all the dark room movement that was about to ensue around me.

I have to say that even as an 'outsider' in the Escape Room, thanks to not being able to easily and safely move around enough to take real part in the game, I still had a really great time. Escape Rooms are all about getting locked in a room, finding clues and solving puzzles in order to escape within a set time limit. I can't say I was able to actually help much with getting us out because there were so many action points necessary in bringing the clues together to solve the puzzles and make our escape possible but I did get to help at least a little bit with holding and pointing the flashlight for others to be able to work at tasks with both hands... and seeing my friends just dive with such excitement and gusto into the challenges just made my heart burst with pride for getting to share time with such joy in confidence!

Sure, looking back, I would have loved to be able to jump into every challenge right alongside my friends and for a minute I really wished that I had called ahead to find out if the Escape Rooms were safe in accessibility but now I'm more grateful that I just chanced it and went in even when I learned that it really wasn't the safest space for me right now. I may not have gotten to taken complete part in the group challenges but I did challenge my own self by trusting my friends enough to willingly head into a dark room with them... and I trusted my body (with the help of my Stix and a wall) to hold me through the fun of watching my posse free us ALL from 'The Cabin'!

We made it out with time to spare but Joelle really wanted to hold the "call my mom..." sign which,
of course, made me giggle! And here's what the Escape Room staff had to say...
“In for ‘The Cabin’ was a group even our Mountain Man was afraid to tangle with. Team Bride showed no mercy wanting to get to the Wedding on time and escaped with an amazing time of 18min 37sec left on the clock. Great job!”

If you've not yet experienced an Escape Room adventure, you are in for a fun time of super fun challenges should you decide to give it a try... we sure did!!