March 5, 2010
As part of my discovery of new places on my cross country travels in 2010, I have also had an opportunity to set right those things I have aspired to do in the past but have failed to do so. I've challenged myself in the past to skydive—eager to realize the unknown fears and see if I could confront those fears—but I never stepped up to the challenge. So that's how I found myself at 13,000 feet above the ground in southern Arizona, falling free with a new acquaintance strapped to my back. To my surprise and delight, there was no hesitation on my part on what is frequently used as a joke: jumping out of a perfectly fine working airplane.
Jumping out of the airplane was like jumping off a high dive board and never hitting the water. We dropped around 8,000 feet in a minute or so getting to a top speed of 120 mph or so. The air was cold and pressed on my face, contorting my face into some funny expressions. It also showed my hairline is receding ... yikes! When the parachute was released at around 5,000 feet above ground level, the jolt was not as hard as I imagined it would be, and I was able to enjoy the scenery as we floated down. My tandem partner and instructor let me steer the parachute with turns to the right and left. Then he tugged hard on the left strap and we went into a tight, downward spiral. This was the amusement park ride of the skydive as we went round and round.
Around six minutes after we jumped out of the airplane, we came in for the landing, right on target with a butt slide ending a thrilling ride. The rush was so great I could still feel the adrenaline several minutes later.
Well, this is one item that is now off my bucket list of 101 Things to Do.
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| Southern Arizona below me |
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| Enjoying the View |
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| Coming back down to Arizona |
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