Free Fallin’

 

I must say, I had a hard time sleeping the night before my first jump.

It was the summer of 2009 and while on vacation with some friends in New Zealand we decided to plan our first skydive adventure. We were looking for that rush that comes with taking those steps to the unknown. I know what some of you are thinking and I was thinking the same thing, “why jump out of a perfectly good airplane?”. I must say, Skydiving lives up to all the hype…what a rush.

At the airfield we were introduced to our instructors and given a quick education on what to expect. The plane ride up to 10,000 feet was a bit surreal and there was a lot of chatter as we began to prepare for what was coming our way. On approach of the jump point we connected with our instructors as we had planned a tandem jump. The instructor, Chase, was great, and with the door opened we prepared to jump out of this perfectly good plane.

With a “Ready, Set…Go”, we were airborne.

As we began our free fall, the Chase began to turn us around positioning our backs to the ground. It was amazing to see how fast the plane began to disappear. As you are falling at 120 mph, you really don’t comprehend that amount of speed. The ground looks like a large map and like a computer, you start to zoom in on the scenery. After about 40 seconds of free fall Chase pulled the cord…we went from the sound of a freight train rushing by us to to a dead quite and the feeling of floating on clouds.

This was one of those experiences that you might say, it’s once in a life time…for me, I can’t wait to do it again. Again, what can I say but, wow. The grin is still here!!!