Skydiving

We were supposed to go skydiving for our 5th anniversary (because I really wanted to go skydiving and I thought it would be a great way to celebrate!), but for some reason we never got it scheduled and then it was too cold. I made sure I scheduled this as SOON as it was warm enough to go again. It was AWESOME. Here are some pictures and a little about our experience.







We drove about an hour and a half south of Richmond into this out-in-the-country type place. Rich even expressed his concern that he thought "our GPS was leading us out into the middle of nowhere to kill us." We finally turned onto Airport Road and see the runway for the airplanes and right next to it within the gates of the airport was a cemetery. This does NOT seem like a good omen when you are about to jump out of the airplane. (the picture below was actually taken from the airplane.)





Then we pulled up and saw the place and Rich said, "Where did you bring us!"








Then he was really wondering where I was taking him when he saw the size of the plane we were about to jump out of. Plus, as we rolled up there was an old guy sitting in a lawn chair, one guy riding a bike in circles, one guy bouncing a big blue ball and a girl playing with a dog. It was so random!

Then came the paperwork. It is the scariest part of the whole thing, because you have sign your life away multiple times! They just keep rewording the ways that you could get hurt and/or killed and how you and/or your surviving family cannot sue them.

They told us we had to wait an hour for the winds to slow down. We had a great time hanging out with the people there. This guy was telling us how much he love livin' in the country, because he can just walk out on his front porch in his underwear to let his dog out. Doesn't Rich look uncomfortable with this set up!

We finally got up in the air. Rich was going to jump first. He got all strapped up to the instructor (he said it was awkward). Then when we made it to 10,000 feet they assumed the position and Rich swung his legs out and they were sucked right out the side of the plane. I actually screamed because it happened so fast. By the time the plane landed he was already back on the ground. This was not his first skydiving experience, so he just said, "yeah, that was really fun." As if it was no big deal to jump out of a plane.

Then it was my turn! I was a little nervous, but we we got into position and he opened the door, I looked down and hyperventilated a little. I didn't actually contemplate not jumping, but it definitely added to the anticipation. Before I knew it, it was time to swing my legs over the edge and jump. I didn't have any time to think about it. All of a sudden I am plummeting through the air. It was so exhilarating and exciting. I was screaming, but I think it was all in my head because I couldn't hear any noise coming out of my mouth. Then he pulled the cord and we floated down. It was a beautiful blue sky day and the view was incredible. It was amazing. I am so glad we went. Worth every penny!