Before I forget: SKYDIVING!!!
Friday, I drove out to the middle of nowhere to do one of the coolest things of my life thus far. As we (Robby and I) drove up that last stretch of dusty gravel road, we looked up and saw the clear sky spotted with parachute confetti. It gave me goosebumps! That's when it really hit that it was going to happen. This was our THIRD attempt. The first time we went to try and jump, it was too windy (28 mph too windy). We rescheduled and that day a tornado practically went over the hanger (so again, too windy). So, even though the weather was perfect and there was only a slight breeze, we were still skeptical up until that moment. The waiting around was insane. Robby smoked A LOT. I tried to read. Couldn't read. I sat, I stood, I watched, I went inside, I walked outside, I played with the dog, I went back inside, I went back outside... Really, I should have just grabbed my mp3 player and zoned and Robby should have found a place and napped. Anywho! Fast-forward to when our names got called to the red carpet. Putting on my jumpsuit took forever! I had to keep adjusting my jeans because I was dumb and tried to put them on while they were still rolled up and then had to unroll them, then had to keep adjusting and yanking. In the end, very unflattering because of all the bulk and such. The guys we were strapped to were awesome. I blank on my guy's name (Ernie?) and Robby was strapped to California Dave.
I'm the first to climb in the plane. That was a yay right there because I love being in planes. I should learn to fly one someday. Soon, the door opens and the skilled jumpers get out earlier for some lower altitude jumps. We keep climbing. As I look out the window, I'm telling myself that I'm about to be out in that. Robby and I roshambo to see who goes first. I win (of course!) and I choose to go first. We scoot forward, I get to the door of the plane and it's like I don't trust myself not to lose my balance while strapped, so I'm inching closer to the doorway, when really it didn't matter. While I'm trying to get my legs to position I feel us rocking. That's the sign that he's about to throw our bodies out of the plane. So I say screw it and roll out. Words cannot express how liberating it feels to free fall. It's a combination of being weightless, having a giant hand under you and the actual being supported by wind. All your movements just feel... right. Then I feel him move behind me and *oop* parachute. You forget to anticipate the pain this could cause being strapped in so tight to everything. Got the shoulder aches from that. I looked out so much I forgot to look up. I guess I felt like I was already up. Plus, I have already spent too much of my life looking up, I wanted to look down. At one point, he picked up some speed and did some spirals (so fun). It was after that I had a little movie magic. I glance down and I see this group of horse start to run across their property as we drifted over. I ooh-ed and aah-ed. Then, it was time for landing. For the life of me I could not pick my legs up, so I grabbed the little flap things on my jumpsuit and yanked them up and we slid in for a soft landing on our butts. I think I had my mouth open the entire time. I would ask Ernie questions every now and again but making small talk up there wasn't needed unless you think your instructer's going to die strapped to you. Which after landing I realised I probably should have asked which should I pull in the event of an emergency... But that feels like a jinx. Weee don't need to jinx. We hug each other in victory and go back inside to take a picture together then fill out a survey.
It's here they launch their sneak attack of good deals while we're still high on life... and we bought another jump! And it's the second tandem that begins your training towards getting your skydiving license. 25 jumps. Without discounts that I'm sure they'll have, we're talking a $2,000 investment. But after that, jumping only costs $30 or $90/day. I must say, I don't think I trust myself to pack my own chute and that's only the first problem. I can barely fold the clothes at work! And the learning process is kind of crazy. You're never truly solo until you have your license. You still jump with an instructor. They're just beside you, holding on, instead of strapped to you like a straightjacket. I think that is when I would actually have some fear creep in. We'll see how far I get.
The plane we jumped from
The group that went before us
That's what they have instead of a regular door. It pulls down.
A tandem jumper that went before me. That's basically what I looked like!
Pretty much what I looked like landing, though I like to think mine was even smoother ;)
I'm the first to climb in the plane. That was a yay right there because I love being in planes. I should learn to fly one someday. Soon, the door opens and the skilled jumpers get out earlier for some lower altitude jumps. We keep climbing. As I look out the window, I'm telling myself that I'm about to be out in that. Robby and I roshambo to see who goes first. I win (of course!) and I choose to go first. We scoot forward, I get to the door of the plane and it's like I don't trust myself not to lose my balance while strapped, so I'm inching closer to the doorway, when really it didn't matter. While I'm trying to get my legs to position I feel us rocking. That's the sign that he's about to throw our bodies out of the plane. So I say screw it and roll out. Words cannot express how liberating it feels to free fall. It's a combination of being weightless, having a giant hand under you and the actual being supported by wind. All your movements just feel... right. Then I feel him move behind me and *oop* parachute. You forget to anticipate the pain this could cause being strapped in so tight to everything. Got the shoulder aches from that. I looked out so much I forgot to look up. I guess I felt like I was already up. Plus, I have already spent too much of my life looking up, I wanted to look down. At one point, he picked up some speed and did some spirals (so fun). It was after that I had a little movie magic. I glance down and I see this group of horse start to run across their property as we drifted over. I ooh-ed and aah-ed. Then, it was time for landing. For the life of me I could not pick my legs up, so I grabbed the little flap things on my jumpsuit and yanked them up and we slid in for a soft landing on our butts. I think I had my mouth open the entire time. I would ask Ernie questions every now and again but making small talk up there wasn't needed unless you think your instructer's going to die strapped to you. Which after landing I realised I probably should have asked which should I pull in the event of an emergency... But that feels like a jinx. Weee don't need to jinx. We hug each other in victory and go back inside to take a picture together then fill out a survey.
It's here they launch their sneak attack of good deals while we're still high on life... and we bought another jump! And it's the second tandem that begins your training towards getting your skydiving license. 25 jumps. Without discounts that I'm sure they'll have, we're talking a $2,000 investment. But after that, jumping only costs $30 or $90/day. I must say, I don't think I trust myself to pack my own chute and that's only the first problem. I can barely fold the clothes at work! And the learning process is kind of crazy. You're never truly solo until you have your license. You still jump with an instructor. They're just beside you, holding on, instead of strapped to you like a straightjacket. I think that is when I would actually have some fear creep in. We'll see how far I get.
The plane we jumped from
The group that went before us
That's what they have instead of a regular door. It pulls down.
A tandem jumper that went before me. That's basically what I looked like!
Pretty much what I looked like landing, though I like to think mine was even smoother ;)