"Do you have life insurance?"
"No we're not crazy, yes we have life insurance, people would have to battle it out for Lucy, and by all means yes, I am going to jump out of a plane!"
Monday finally came around and it was time to prove that we were serious about skydiving. I'll admit I was a little nervous, not terrified, but slightly uneasy. When we arrived at Skydive Temple, we saw a sign with the following quote at the check-in window:
Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out and shouting, "Holy crap, what a ride!"
Thanks for easing my nerves Skydive Temple. . . NOT.
Eric and I thought we would be jumping at the same time, but it turns out the plane was WAY too small for that. There was only enough room for the pilot, photographer, instructor, and jumper. So naturally, Eric decided he would go first. To see photos from his experience head on over to his blog.
When it was my turn I climbed into what Emily described as the "very Saved by the Bell" jumpsuit.
Then my instructor, Sam, took me out to the plane to give me a few last minute instructions. This picture gives you a better idea of the plane's size.
Next thing I knew I was getting in the plane and we were flying up to an altitude of 10,500 feet, nearly 2 miles above the ground! When we reached altitude Sam strapped everything together and the plane's door was pulled open. Talk about windy! He had me stick my legs outside the plane. I was supposed to rest my feet on the step like his in the above picture. Then he gave me the warning that we were about to jump and out we went!
I don't remember being particularly scared at all after jumping out of the plane. I do remember that during the free fall it was SUPER windy and it was hard to breathe. When the photographer caught up to us to take pictures all I was thinking was, "Smile and breathe! Smile and breathe!"
The free fall was supposed to last 50 seconds, not that I counted. In the next picture you can see Sam reaching for something on my harness. That "something" is what deploys the parachute. I wasn't aware that he was doing that, so I was in for an unpleasant surprise as the parachute jerked us up.
I really enjoyed the remainder of our trip down to the ground. It didn't feel like we were falling. Sam used ropes that were connected to the parachute to guide us through the air. We did some spins and even suspended the parachute, which made it feel like we were floating in a stationary spot.
As we got closer to our landing target, Sam began to tell me how he wanted us to land. Whenever I've seen people landing on movies and TV they are always running full speed ahead. I couldn't imagine how that would work with us strapped together. My biggest fear was that he was going to fall on me and I'd get squashed on the ground. Turns out Sam's plan was for us to land standing up, and that's exactly what we did. It was light and easy, and we didn't have to run or even take a single step.
And that was the end of my skydiving adventure. I even got a certificate for completing the jump! :)
Congratulations! That's awesome!! I am way impressed with what you did. Glad you enjoyed it!
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