Sky Diving!

Yes, this happened a WHILE ago (three weeks from yesterday, to be exact) but I've been a little busy...

It was fun. I was scared. When we arrived in Cushing, OK, it was a bright sunny day. It was a HOT, bright, sunny day.


(Inside the hangar)
The instructors were great, and it looked simple enough. We were completely attached to our "Fly Guy", so we are certainly not "going down" alone... And these guys typically jump 10-20 times a day, so REALLY, we're safe. We watched several people land... my biggest concern (aside from dying, of course) was spraining/twisiting/breaking a foot/ankle/leg... but after watching people land, I realized that that was something that was REALLY a false misconception... but am I the only one who has visions of people landing and having to somersault or roll to a stop?


Our plane...

So, the four of us got in the plane with the pilot. The flight up to 11,000 feet took about 20 minutes. That, I'm sure, is the scariest part? It's too loud to talk to anyone, so you're alone with your thoughts. Thoughts such as... "WHY are we doing this?" "SHOULD I have told my parents?" "WHY did I say yes when Cowboy told me he had signed us up?"...

Then two minutes before "Launch", the guy straps on behind you. My guy, Bobby, was SOOOO nice. He leaned over and said, "Are you nervous?" I said, "YES!!!!" He said, "REALLY?! You seem so calm and relaxed." I said, "Well, it's exciting, but the whole concept of actually LEAVING the plane on purpose..." and he said, "Well, that makes sense. Anyone who isn't nervous to leave a perfectly good plane may be the crazy one." And then Cowboy and his guy were out...

We inched our way up and put our right feet on this little platform outside the plane door and leaned right, leaned left and he pushed us out.

We free fell for about 17 seconds and then he pulled the cord. At which point he said, "I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is our parachute opened perfectly. (At which point I was frantically looking for Cowboy - heart RACING) The bad news is, your fiance's first parachute didn't open and they had to go to the Reserve. But it's open fine, so I guess it's all good news." ...

It was really pretty and fun and ended too soon. We didn't pay the $75 for a video, so the only pictures we have are "ground ones". But that was fine with me.

I loved it, but would only go again if we ended up rolling in money. Cowboy LOVED it, and I would love for him to be able to do it again, whenever he wants.


Cowboy all "suited up"


Me in my gear - why do I always make odd faces?