this friday i checked off yet another big "to do" from my bucket list. i jumped out of a plane! yes, i went skydiving! it was one of the most incredible things that i have ever done. we went to parachute center in lodi, ca. it was an incredibly ghetto-hippy facility, filled with old couches, flags, posters, rugs etc. but don't worry, they knew what they were doing.
i was paired with a 71 year old man named Mike. he was about the same height as me and hilarious. i was so lucky to get him as my tandem instructor. (we are strapped to our instructors) it was his 18,688+ jump. nick and joey went too, they had pretty cool guys to jump with. nick's was from australia and kept bugging me about getting partnered with mike haha. "you must've been a naughty girl in a past life" haha!
i was the only girl in the plane and it was the last jump of the day. the weather was absolutely perfect and warm. not a cloud in the sky, except the fog over the golden gate bridge, YES we could see all the way out there. mike was my tour guide too, pointing out the scenery and telling me all about what we saw.
i admit, i was really nervous the days leading up to friday, trying not to overthink the risk i was taking (although everyone else was trying to point it out, which fueled my desire to prove them wrong luckily). but once friday actually rolled around, was just extremely excited! we were rushed out to the plane and once we lifted off, my smile was huge. nick, joey and i kept laughing and poking each other while listening to the playful banter between all the instructors. there were probably five or six other people besides us, they all went first. then it was my turn. we skooted up and i crossed my arms looking out at the ground 15,000 feet below me and mike yelled, "happy birthday, now kick my butt!!" and he pulled my head back and we jumped out. i was so happy i forgot to scream for a few seconds. we flipped over and i could see the horizon spin and the blue sky above me and i cheered. i threw my arms and legs out, hence the kick mike's butt statement. it was seriously the most amazing thing i have ever done.
the feeling of falling was non-existant, it seriously didn't seem like it at all. my stomach didn't drop, i was not scared at all. i had to have had the biggest smile of my life the whole time, i could hardly hear my own voice as i screamed in excitement. the scenery was breathtaking, literally, the wind was rushing in my ears and my mouth was dried out from screaming. then he pulled the chute after we fell for 60 seconds and everything was quiet. i could see nick and joey falling after me and their little chute opening.
mike gave me the straps to control the chute and showed me how to make turns so we spun in a few circles. he also gave me another tour of what we were looking at. everything was so tiny, but slowly growing as we descended. we flew right over the free way which was intense then landed. i was so excited!! i watched nick land and we were cheering and yelling.
mike: "when you're 92 and can't remember the names of all your husbands, you'll always remember my name,"
me: "because you're the first man to take me skydiving!!"
haha, you seriously can't beat a high like that! everyone should jump AT LEAST once in their life. i plan to do it several more times.
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