There was a group of 8 of us going, 1 from Rolla and the other 7 of us from Columbia. Our jump was scheduled for 10:30 in Vandalia, IL (3 hours away) and so we all met at one of the fire stations at 6:20. Yeah, early morning. I ended up with only 3 hours of sleep that night, but still managed to be excited and happy even at 6 in the morning. Can't say the same for the other guys though.... :) They looked as if someone had died and this was the worst day of their life. Those of you who know me, know that I can get very excited about things and so just imagine me with a bunch of sour, grumpy guys and it paints a perfect picture of our group. Oh, and did I mention they were drinking coffee? Apparently, it doesn't work that early for them... I thought it was rather hilarious as I am so not like that. How can you be grumpy when you're about to do the coolest thing ever?! They couldn't understand how I could be so cheerful that early in the morning... :-) They did start to cheer up some during the drive and by the time we arrived in IL everyone was pretty excited. We were about 30 minutes early and ended up filling out a bunch of paperwork stating we wouldn't sue if we died or were injured. You pretty much felt like you had just signed your life away once you were done.
Watching the training video... Don't they look excited?! ;-)Ok, so the video was actually pretty hilarious and we laughed a lot at it. Don't think it was supposed to be, but it made us all rather nervous about the statements they were making about the spare chutes and how they are only checked once every 6 months, and how dangerous skydiving can be, etc. :)
Peter and Paul were the first from our group to go. I wanted to be first but we didn't really get a choice as it was our instructors who paired us up.
Brett and Nathan made up group 2
Peter and Paul were the first from our group to go. I wanted to be first but we didn't really get a choice as it was our instructors who paired us up.
YES, it's my turn...finally! :-)
In our yellow banana suits. =) They really weren't that comfortable either...and once you had your harness on, you really felt pretty stiff. :)
Instructions on how not to die.... I tried to pay close attention. ;-)
Almost ready! =) I was so excited that I'm pretty sure I had a huge grin on my face the entire time. :)
This guy was awesome and gave me a wonderful, first-time skydiving experience. :)
LET'S DO THIS! That was my quote for the day... :)
Walking to the plane.I had thought for sure that during our short ride to 13,000 ft I would be getting nervous and probably freaking out... But I was rather surprised when I wasn't at all nervous and just couldn't wait to actually jump. :) I really had a hard time not just going crazy with extreme excitement. I don't think I have ever been that excited to do something. :)
And we made it! =)I really wish I could've had the video or photography for my jump as it would be awesome to have the pictures, but I wasn't wanting to pay an extra 100 bucks for it.
There was about 8 of us (not including the pilot) who were crammed into this tiny little plane... there really was no extra space. And once we were at 13,000 ft we started to lose people. I was the last one out of the plane (besides the guy attached to me), and when it was our turn we moved to the edge and on his signal we rolled out of the plane... very much like rolling out of bed, except you keep falling. :) We then had 60 seconds of free fall... during that time my face felt like it was completely frozen and the pressure really got to my head and I thought it was going to explode it hurt so bad (that's not supposed to happen, but with me, everything's different). It was pretty awesome (even with the freezing face and exploding head), and you never had the sensation of losing your stomach. And then you have a big jerk and your chute comes out (thankfully, ours didn't malfunction ;-). Not sure how long the rest of it lasted, but it was pretty awesome as I was able to steer the parachute and we had a great landing that was so soft....felt better than when you jump off a couch to the floor. :-)
There was about 8 of us (not including the pilot) who were crammed into this tiny little plane... there really was no extra space. And once we were at 13,000 ft we started to lose people. I was the last one out of the plane (besides the guy attached to me), and when it was our turn we moved to the edge and on his signal we rolled out of the plane... very much like rolling out of bed, except you keep falling. :) We then had 60 seconds of free fall... during that time my face felt like it was completely frozen and the pressure really got to my head and I thought it was going to explode it hurt so bad (that's not supposed to happen, but with me, everything's different). It was pretty awesome (even with the freezing face and exploding head), and you never had the sensation of losing your stomach. And then you have a big jerk and your chute comes out (thankfully, ours didn't malfunction ;-). Not sure how long the rest of it lasted, but it was pretty awesome as I was able to steer the parachute and we had a great landing that was so soft....felt better than when you jump off a couch to the floor. :-)
Yay! My certificate that states I successfully completed my first tandem jump. It's pretty awesome. =)So, that was my awesome skydiving experience.... and maybe I'll do it again someday. =)
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