Move Over Princess

Historic, quaint, and picturesque were the descriptors that came to mind as I contemplated my upcoming trip to Wales. By the time I was on the way home, rugged and adventurous topped my list of adjectives. When I arrived in this New Jersey-sized country on the western edge of the isle of Great Britain, I had expected medieval castles, small villages complete with gentle yet noisy rivers, miles of unspoiled coastline, and an endless supply of local pubs. My expectations were quickly hurled out the window as I zip-lined over a series of quarries hundreds of feet deep in the wilds of Snowdonia. They were completely shredded and thrown to the wind as, clad in little more than a wetsuit and helmet, I jumped off a cliff into the roiling Irish Sea.

After a week spent hiking rugged peaks,