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Published: April 7th 2012
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First of all, I'm not really into heights. I used to like jumping off of cliffs, 50'-60' was the highest I'd go, but that all changed after I jumped off the roof of this sketchy house perched on some cliffs on the west side of Maui--I haven't really jumped off of anything since then. I just don't do it anymore. I won't even jump off the sundeck of the boat. So, pretty much needless to say, I didn't really want to go skydiving either. But, I'll tell you what, I'm soooooooo glad I did.
It was the most amazing thing I've done in a long time. I wouldn't say I was scared to go, but I definitely dragged my feet in getting to the airport. They didn't think that I was going to show up.
The guys running the show fly over from Tahiti to do this, and they had only been doing it for a couple of months on Moorea. There were seven of us in the plane on the way up--two tandems, and then a couple from Tahiti that came over to jump, plus the pilot, who was also wearing a parachute, 'just
in case' haha. It took about 20-30 minutes to get up to 9,000ft, and with the temperature droppng along the way it was actually refreshing. I knew this whole thing was for real when the couple got ready to jump, and basically stepped outside of the airplane, let go, and disappeared from sight, very quickly.
We went next. After the first few seconds of thinking 'holy s#$t I'm falling!!', it actually wasn't that bad. It was pretty intense, being able to look straight down and see the ground, thousands of feet below, getting closer to you. Moorea has to be one of the most beautiful places that you could possibly jump over as well. The colors were amazing, between the greens of the forest covered mountains and the light blues of the lagoon. It was a lot to take in on the first time skydiving, between enjoying the sights and the sensation of freefalling.
I will do it again someday, that's for sure.
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Mom
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What, no helmet?
No knee pads? My heart is in my throat thinking of it! When I was much younger, I thought I'd love to do that, but I'm over it. I'll stay here, safe on the couch, and keep up with your shenanigans. Thanks for the thrill. XXXOOOXXX