When I was teenager, I always said I'd love to skydive. Maybe it was because I had no sense of danger and I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I had a lot of energy as a kid and I needed to be in 10 different activities. Luckily, I somehow do NOT suffer from ADD. Go figure.
As an adult, the opportunity presented itself and I suddenly chickened out. A quick "Nay, that's ok..." and it was off my bucket list. Yikes! After that, it bothered me that I didn't do it. I had to wait a good 10 years before the opportunity came around again. My second chance at redemption. This time, I was all in and might have been a little too enthusiastic about it.
My friends and I drove up to SkyDive Santa Barbara and checked in with our instructors for training, plus reading and signing pages and pages of waivers. (Yes, we get it, we won't sue you if we die, check.) After training, we got suited up and made our way to the airplane.
Each of our instructors kept us talking into their little GoPros to document our terror or exhilaration. (That's extra.) Once we hit 13,000 ft (3962.4 meters), they opened the door and it was now or never. I was second in line to jump. By then, my instructor had tighten the harness so much that we were practically one torso with four legs and four arms. My only question was "So, if we get separated mid-air, what then?" He chuckled and said "I guess I'll see you back at the hanger!"
Moment of truth, we slide to the door and because I was sitting in his lap due to the harness, I was already half out of the door. One of the rules we learned in training is to tilt your head back onto the instructor's shoulder so he/she can see to exit the plane properly. I think that's also partly so you're not looking straight down at the ground and freak out at the last minute.
Then....3...2...1...go! He pushed us out and we began our free fall.
It was a gorgeous sunny day and we were high enough to be over both the ocean and wine country. It was beyond beautiful. No words can describe it.
The one thing that stood out to me the most is that....and I know you will find it hard to believe, but....I didn't feel like I was falling at all. Since you have nothing around you to gauge your movement downward, it actually feels like your floating, not falling. I think everyone has had at least one dream of where you feel like you're falling. This is not that feeling at all. At least for me. I can only describe it as sticking your head out of the car window on the highway going 80 miles an hour. The rush was amazing!
After about 45 seconds of free fall, my instructor (Tim) pulled the chute. Pop! You're going so fast and then you're jerked to almost a stop and begin to gently float under the canopy.
Depending upon your fear level at this point, your instructor will ask if you want to steer and do some turns. Me being the adrenaline junkie that I am said "More, more!"...we did a fast spiral one way, then the other. Steering is extremely difficult, you need a lot of upper body strength to turn the parachute. The faster you spin, the faster you head toward the ground too.
The landing was simple. The only thing I had to do was lift my feet up so Tim could land standing up. Once he made contact, I put my feet down and boom! Safely back on Mother Earth. The adrenaline was pumping so much, that it took me about 30 mins for my body to stop vibrating.
In conclusion, YES I will be doing it again. Not sure when, but it was amazing. If you ever get the chance, do it. For me, it was worth the wait.
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