I jumped and landed on my feet! That was my first text to my son and my pops to let them know I survived my first skydive!
This has been a bucket list item for me for a long time and always wanted to do it by my 40th birthday. On the eve of said birthday into an amazing new decade full of wonderful opportunities I sit here and reflect on how amazing life is and how much I love to live it every single day! Life is short but I don’t want to feel like it is. I want to have experienced everything I ever wanted to do (ok, within reason of course…I haven’t completely fallen off my rocker) and live life with no regrets.
Thankfully my hubs feels the same way even though we are surrounded by worriers and “play it safe” people. They are great to have around to keep you in some sort of line.
Ok, now back to the jump out of a cute little airplane that was perfectly sound. We got to Norcal Skydiving and I wasn’t feeling nervous at all, just extreme excitement! The only thing I was worried about was losing my cookies and I had prepped for that by not eating since the evening before. The staff was so friendly and welcoming and made me feel completely at ease from the moment we pulled into the parking lot. Tyler was great and made me feel comfortable with his abilities and since he was so at ease how could I not be?
The hubs doesn’t show a lot of emotion but I think he might have been a little nervous for me 🙂 We got my harness on, introductions happened and we headed out to the tiny little silver jewel of a plane that would take me 8,000 feet in the air and show me how absolutely gorgeous wine country is. We climbed for what seemed like an hour and I enjoyed every new sight we saw. We could see Lake Sonoma, Clearlake, the ocean, Mt Tamalpais, Mount St Helena, Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley and all the lovely rivers and vineyards below. I couldn’t help feeling like a kid in a candy store and wished I had my camera with me!
Once we got to the correct altitude, Tyler attached my harness to his and we prepped for the jump. The door flying open and swinging my feet out was the scariest part of it all! No countdown, no warning, just immediate free fall upside down looking straight down on the gorgeous view below!! Then flip and into flying position with arms out and feet back (I believe this might be where I stopped screaming) to enjoy the view. I didn’t want it to stop…then the parachute deployed and boom we were floating high above the world. Everything was still small for a while but seriously can’t explain how amazing it is to be up there! So peaceful and was in total awe of the moment. Tyler did a great job turning us around so I could see all the sights and guiding us to the landing spot. Once I could see the hubs I got so excited to just jump into his arms and tell him how amazing it was and how amazing he was to support me in this adventure! We landed on our feet in a pile of pea gravel and unhooked. As much as I loved being up there I really loved being back on the ground!
After this, I feel like my 40’s are going to be amazing and I will be able to handle anything and everything life has to throw at me and show me. Cheers to everyone who has made it this far in life and to all the ones who will follow behind…it’s an amazing time to be celebrating everything!
I paid extra for the photos and video package and it was so very worth it to have these memories! Many of the photos came out with my cheeks looking funny or my nostrils larger than I thought they could be or just plain silly but I love all of them!
It would definitely would be quite the feeling having your feet dangle out the plane at 8,000 feet.
Enjoyed reading this, something I have wanted to try, and I’m mid fifties. Love your words “play it safe” people. So much out there in the world to experience.
Keep going! 🙂
~Carl~
Thanks Carl! I would highly recommend doing this once in your life. Not for the rush, just for the amazing experience that it is. 🙂 thanks for stopping by!
It’s the best experience in the world, isn’t it? 🙂 Kudos for doing it!
Thanks Jelena! So excited I was able to do it! And yes, one of the best experiences I have had yet!
Wow! Sounds like an awesome experience – and I’m not sure there could be a better backdrop! It looks stunning, even upside down 🙂 Sky-diving is one of those things I go back and forth on – a “maybe if the opportunity comes up” kind of thing, but reading this makes me reconsider a firmer position on that. Lol. So glad you got to check it off the list with plenty of love & support!
I would highly recommend it! It’s absolutely amazing being high above the world! If you are on the fence, just jump 🙂
I just don’t think I’m ready to this as much as I might like it. Maybe when I’m older.