Love all of these shots. It looks like you had a ball! What an amazing experience. Woohoo!

Deanne

Your my hero Brenda! Awesome!!!!

"You're" my hero!!! (It was supposed to say!) And it's true!

Being a practical soul, I couldn't help but notice... the guy piggyback is wearing a helmet but you aren't...?! What was the temperature like up there? I would think a short sleeved t-shirt might be a bit chilly...? But the overall impression from the pictures is exuberant FUN!

What a blast! I was going to say "love the pants", then towards the end I realized they weren't yours...lol. When I went almost 30 years ago, there were no partners but your pull cord was attached to the plane so as soon as you jumped, the shoot opened. Much lower elevations too I imagine. You did have to navigate down but that wasn't tough. If I remember correctly there was somebody on the ground with a big arrow and you needed to keep the arrow pointed at your back.

Great shots, thanks for the show!

Sue

Wow...I found myself wondering who was taking the pictures...lol. You looked so confident Brenda! So now you have to tell us, how did it feel? Were you nervous at all, or did you just feel like a bird?

Before I get a bunch of credit I don't deserve....it takes very little bravery to get pushed out of a plane, lol! Ya just gotta be goofy enough to show up and let them get a harness on you. In the class we had to take, the instructor said, "Remember, even when you're at the door of the plane, you can still say no. Of course, they won't be able to tell if you said NO or GO " He also said he's never known of anyone to come back on the plane.

Woody, I mentioned the helmet thing, too. I noticed it long before I went up. Everyone I asked said that the reason for it is that the instructor is in very real danger of getting slammed in the face when you go out of the plane. That's one reason they have you tip your head back on their shoulder before you exit. The instructor also has to protect his melon in case you slam him into the ground on the landing. The main concern for injury for me on the landing would be if I had decided I could land on my feet instead of my bottom. That depends on the wind. If it's really calm, you land on your fanny. They mentioned in class that if you're told coming in that you're landing on your butt, do NOT think at the last minute that it looks like you can land on your feet. If you put your feet down, and you're not supposed to, you go for a long slide across the grass on your face. I did what my friend with the crazy pants told me to do...in retrospect, a wise choice. It was a little chilly and damp, but not bad. After being stacked like sardines in the plane, it felt pretty good. Lots of people were jumping in shorts and t shirts. I had neglected to shave my legs (read didn't really care) and wore jeans.

Lol, Sue! When that guy in those pants came walking out and called my name, I just got a huge grin! That's JUST the kinda person I wanted to be strapped to, and he was just as exuberant as his pants. As we were walking to the plane, he wanted to know if I had any questions. I said, "Just one. You ever kill anyone doing this?" He very seriously said, "Yes". I said, "Good, now that you have that out of the way, we should be fine, right?" I thought he was gonna fall over, and we were best pals from then on. DS wanted to do a static line jump like you did. My chiropractor sent me to talk to a guy he knows who jumps a lot (oddly enough, an Amish man) and he said that not many places do that anymore, because you lose so much of the freefall experience. That's what DS was really into, so he consented to a tandem jump. As we were walking away after landing, he thanked me for talking him out of doing it alone.

PM- By the time we went up, I had seen so many people solo and tandem, that I really wasn't scared. The only part I wondered about was if I'd be scared in the doorway. There's not enough of a pause to have time to get scared. There's a bar above the door, and they have you duck your head down so you don't hit it, then immediately tip your head back on their shoulder, so it was a very brief look down and I don't even remember it. Once we were out the door, it truly wasn't scary. It didn't really feel like falling. There's nothing up there for a frame of reference as to how fast you're falling. It's between 120-125 mph, but it really just feels like you're suspended over a giant blower. I loved every second of the freefall. Well, I could have done without the barrel roll as soon as we went out the door. Didn't realize that was coming, and my stomach went places I'm pretty sure it's never been before. I don't think it would have bothered me if I'd realized it was going to happen. That was my crazy buddy Kenny taking the pics. He was hilarious. He had two big Heinekin (sp) stickers on the back of his helmet. Once the freefall is over, he drifts to the ground and shoots some video so you get an idea of what I saw as I was going down. He has to get down first so he can get the shots of the landing, and they do a great job.

As an extra added bonus, the parachuting Amishman was THERE! He lives about 45 minutes from us. When he and I saw each other, we both lost our minds and ran toward each other. He said he'd been hoping I'd show up. They were having summerfest and he was there for the week. He's jumped over 1800 times, and does jumps with groups in formation. He and his group hold records for the most people over 40 to jump in formation in both Indiana and Illinois. People never cease to amaze me, and often in a very pleasant way :) He continued to check in with DS and I throughout the day and made sure he talked to us after the jump. When I met up with him, he had already jumped several times that day. He comes back in the hangar, repacks his canopy and gets back up there.
K, I should get outta here-thanks everyone for sharing this with me. If you ever get the chance, give it some serious thought. It's something you'll never forget, and it's as free as you'll ever feel!
Brenda

Brenda, these shots are awesome and you do the best job at describing the experience for us! I can tell you're over the moon through your words.

Thanks for sharing!

Saucy

Hoozowie, Brenda!! I have tingles all over after reading and watching your account. I love parasailing, but then one is attached to a boat so it's nothing like jumping, ummmmm, being pushed, out of a plane.

You may THINK you didn't see the ground while going under the bar, but look at your face in the pic. Never seen one quite like that before.....LOL

Glad you both had a great time and landed safety.

Martie

Thank you Brenda for such a heartfelt description of your fabu experience.! The pics are great and I hope you get a chance to do it again some day . I guess it's something one could get pretty addicted too , like your Amish friend. I imagine that it is not an inexpensive hobby however !

Kathy in Napa

Spectacular Brenda! What an experience; thanks for sharing it with us.

Great pics and report ! You are braver than I am ! But I would still like to go up in a hot air balloon.

Brenda - you are an amazing woman. Those shots are incredible and really made me feel as if I were there. Did you catch sight of V on the way down? I agree with your sentiment that the instructor was just the sort of guy you would want to be strapped to. In fact, seeing the pictures is making me reconsider my fear of heights.....

Bravo!!

Mary

What an incredible experience that must have been (better you than me though LOL) The pictures are awesome.

Marian- The kids of one of the guys we farm with gave him and his wife a hot air balloon ride for their 35th wedding anniversary. They absolutely LOVED it.

Mary, DS has always been terrified of heights. I thought it was kind of odd that he wanted to skydive. Go try and figure out a young man, lol!

Brenda

LOL, Brenda, our kids ( read DIL )got me a huge box of Wal Mart dishes, place settings, and pots for our 35th!
The next one coming up will be our 51st. I can just see my 82 year old Nolon in a hot air baloon ! :-D

So....you are going to do it again ! Good for you. :-)

Brenda, you are a brave woman :) How great that you enjoyed it so much too! Thanks for sharing your fun time with us here. That's as close as I'll ever get to actually sky diving myself I'm pretty sure.

Eden

Way cool Brenda. Looks like fun, though I'm afraid of heights too. I did enjoy a hotair balloon ride though and could probably enjoy skydiving itself but would probably have to be pushed from the plane. LOL

So glad you have had a fun birthday this year. One to remember always.

My favorite birthday was a really neat trailride in the Colorado mountains. Norma

WOW