...Headin into twilight
Spreadin out her wings tonight
She got you jumpin off the deck
And shovin into overdrive...
Ahhhh! I have been waiting and waiting and waiting to do this post. Seems like FOREVER ago that I risked my life and jumped out of a moving airplane. I made a last minute visit to Honolulu to see my brother and his family before he deployed for the 1,267th time (really it's only his 6th deployment since 2003, but let me tell you it feels like he's ALWAYS leaving). I am one of those people who has a bucket list on my fridge. It's ridiculous. I'm so serious about it. Everytime I think of something adventurous and life-threatening, I write it down. We only have one life, right? Might as well spend it having a good time. Anyway, skydiving was and always has been #1 on my list. Sooooo...5 minutes after I landed in Hawaii, I told my brother that I wasn't going to leave until he jumped out of a plane with me. I know, I'm evil. But, he's been jumping out of planes for years in the military so I figured it would be a piece of cake for him. But...he was pretty skep
tical about doing it. "I've only ever done static line jumps...I've never jumped from that high..." blah blah blah. Excuses! I wasn't taking no for an answer (something I'm pretty good at) so less than a day later, there we were at Skydive Hawaii (http://www.skydivehawaii.com/) signing and initialing page after page about how "we may be injured or killed." eeeeek. I didn't even read the dang thing. I was about to burst with excitement...why ruin it with all the fine print? If it's my time to go and God's ready to call my number, it's gonna happen no matter what. We had to wait for what felt like hours...all the while watching group after group get their turn. Our names were finally called and I had a brief meltdown. Why am I doing this again? Am I totally off my rocker? Which scenario would be a quicker death...crashing onto land or into water? Who's packing my parachute? How many times has my tandem partner done this and what's his death ratio? OMG. OMG. OMG. I ended up with the most chill and fun guy as my partner. Couldn't have asked for anyone better. His name was Farmer. No joke. Well, okay, that's a nickname, but whatever. If you know me, you are well aware that I ask A LOT of questions. I want to know why, when, what, who...about everything. I swear I ask more questions then a 4 year old. I was the only girl in our group and all those boys loved teasing me and making me want to question my sanity. Everything from This is only Farmer's second jump to Uh Oh. Your equipment is the wrong size...you sure you wanna do this?? So after an amazing ride around the North Shore of Oahu on a rickety old plane, that huge door on the side opens. Goggles get put on. The tandem guys are tightening equipment and making sure us rookies know what to do. (Did I mention I got a 25- second lesson on where to put my arms, legs, how to land, etc?) I made sure I was last in line to jump. As my brother took his turn, all I could muster were the words, "I love you" as I watched him jump from 14,000 feet in the air. Finally, everyone else has gone and it's our turn. I was using every four-letter word known to man. Over and over and over. I kept thinking, Oh God...please don't let me pee myself or throw up. So...here we go...like it or not. Ready. Set. Go. We fall out of the plane and I think I did everything I was instructed to do. We free fell for about 60 seconds at around 120 mph. It was the most ahhhhmazing feeling I've ever had. It was like we were floating. Never once did it feel like we were falling that fast. Before I knew it, Farmer pulled the cord for the chute to open and the first words out of his mouth were, "Thank God..it worked!" Ha. Very funny. I'm not kidding when I say it was the most exhilarating experience of my entire life. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I literally felt on top of the world. And to experience it in one of the most beautiful places on earth made it unbelievable. Being above the ocean was incredible. What a way to see Hawaii. Thanks, bro, for playing along and risking your life with me. There's no one else I would have rather done this with.
tical about doing it. "I've only ever done static line jumps...I've never jumped from that high..." blah blah blah. Excuses! I wasn't taking no for an answer (something I'm pretty good at) so less than a day later, there we were at Skydive Hawaii (http://www.skydivehawaii.com/) signing and initialing page after page about how "we may be injured or killed." eeeeek. I didn't even read the dang thing. I was about to burst with excitement...why ruin it with all the fine print? If it's my time to go and God's ready to call my number, it's gonna happen no matter what. We had to wait for what felt like hours...all the while watching group after group get their turn. Our names were finally called and I had a brief meltdown. Why am I doing this again? Am I totally off my rocker? Which scenario would be a quicker death...crashing onto land or into water? Who's packing my parachute? How many times has my tandem partner done this and what's his death ratio? OMG. OMG. OMG. I ended up with the most chill and fun guy as my partner. Couldn't have asked for anyone better. His name was Farmer. No joke. Well, okay, that's a nickname, but whatever. If you know me, you are well aware that I ask A LOT of questions. I want to know why, when, what, who...about everything. I swear I ask more questions then a 4 year old. I was the only girl in our group and all those boys loved teasing me and making me want to question my sanity. Everything from This is only Farmer's second jump to Uh Oh. Your equipment is the wrong size...you sure you wanna do this?? So after an amazing ride around the North Shore of Oahu on a rickety old plane, that huge door on the side opens. Goggles get put on. The tandem guys are tightening equipment and making sure us rookies know what to do. (Did I mention I got a 25- second lesson on where to put my arms, legs, how to land, etc?) I made sure I was last in line to jump. As my brother took his turn, all I could muster were the words, "I love you" as I watched him jump from 14,000 feet in the air. Finally, everyone else has gone and it's our turn. I was using every four-letter word known to man. Over and over and over. I kept thinking, Oh God...please don't let me pee myself or throw up. So...here we go...like it or not. Ready. Set. Go. We fall out of the plane and I think I did everything I was instructed to do. We free fell for about 60 seconds at around 120 mph. It was the most ahhhhmazing feeling I've ever had. It was like we were floating. Never once did it feel like we were falling that fast. Before I knew it, Farmer pulled the cord for the chute to open and the first words out of his mouth were, "Thank God..it worked!" Ha. Very funny. I'm not kidding when I say it was the most exhilarating experience of my entire life. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I literally felt on top of the world. And to experience it in one of the most beautiful places on earth made it unbelievable. Being above the ocean was incredible. What a way to see Hawaii. Thanks, bro, for playing along and risking your life with me. There's no one else I would have rather done this with. So...the real treat is the video I'm going to share. We aren't in it, but this video was shot and posted by Farmer. It's amazing. If this doesn't make you want to ride into the danger zone, I'm not sure what will. I waited until Farmer gave me the go ahead to share his creation and I'm so thrilled he was gracious enough to say yes. Thank you for letting me post your video and share this experience with family and friends. Oh yeah, and thanks for getting me on the ground alive. Reeeeally appreciate it. :)
Copy and paste the URL into your browser. You won't be disappointed.
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