Me + Terminal Velocity = Whoa

Ever wondered what it would be like to...

Go up 14,000 feet halfway to the troposphere,

and jump into a blank canvas of clouds

and fall like a gunned-down jet (face-first, mind you) at terminal velocity?

I did.

This past Friday I checked off my number 1 "to-do" on my life bucket list. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but perhaps I was thinking that life is just too darn short. If not now, when? My schedule for the upcoming year doesn't even allow time for dinner or that sleep thing.

So, after waiting approximately SIX hours for the sky to clear up of ominous clouds, I suited up in Armageddon-like orange nylon suit (seen below) and waited patiently and calmly for my turn to board the mini aircraft (also seen below).

Boarding the aircraft...I took my sweet time boarding, wondering how I'd look if I backed out....

Ok, i'm lying. That's a picture of me throwing up a little in my mouth.

About 15 minutes later in flight and some 14,000 feet up, I'm ready to go. At this point I feel like all of my body parts (all body parts...) are strapped up so tight I can't tell if I'm circulating blood or not. Oh well, that's not important while skydiving. So now I'm uncomfortably close to my instructors body. I swear I could feel his heart beat, I guess this closeness is necessary though for something like this.

Anywho, here are some pictures of me putting my left foot outside the plane on the first step, putting my head out stupidly looking down at our open target, and my instructor (Cecil) rocking me back and forth while saying "I'm going to say 'Ready'...'Set'....and then 'Go'!" I wasn't thinking....my train of thought was left behind a couple thousand feet below. Then he says "AND DON'T FORGET....KICK ME IN THE ASS RIGHT AWAY!" meaning... the exit from the plane is most important to get a good balance in the air. My only instruction was to kick him in the but right after we jumped. As you can see below...it took my body a couple seconds to realize I'm floating before remembering the most important life and death instruction.

At this point, I'm going falling through the sky about 250 feet/second. That's about 120 mph.

All you can hear is the screaming wind pushing all around you as you free fall for the longest 45 seconds of your life. You can't talk, it's hard to remember to breathe (and to breathe through your nose...not...your mouth...), and it all becomes so unreal that you are falling through the sky. You feel the wind just brush all around you, pushing you down, up, to the side. The temperature is beautiful, crisp and cold. You know how you look out the airplane and you are just so content about being above the clouds? Take that feeling, multiply it by 1,000 and imagine just jumping out of that window and falling towards those puffy clouds.

Oh, Cecil.....

"See ya!"

"WHOA!!!"

Ok, now this is a feeling I can't really explain well. Right as you are plummeting through the sky and all you can hear is the rushing wind, you pull the parachute, you are gently lifted up and in a matter of 3-5 seconds, its pure quiet. Absolutely silent. All you can hear is a gently whistle of the wind. Unlike anything I've experienced in my life. It was absolutely phenomenal and totally an out-of-body experience. I couldn't believe what just happened. The first thing I say when I hear this peaceful silence is "Holy Sh**!" I could not believe what had just happened. In the free fall, you have no time to really think about anything else. Cecil tells me to grab onto the handles to toggle the parachute and steer for the clouds below (yes, we are still) above the clouds. I spot the most comfy looking puffy cloud and aim right for it.

Right before we enter the cloud

In the cloud!

What I saw right coming right out of the cloud.

It was unbelievable. I wanted to slap myself so hard to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Going through the cloud was the best part of landing. I grabbed the toggles of the parachute and just did twirles and circles inside the cloud. I wanted to stay there for a while, it was so peaceful and indescribable. It was like one of those dreams where its all foggy and misty and cold. Then..... I thought about "Oh crap, what if a plane comes...they can't see where I'm at". haha. Silly thought....

Before you know it, it's time to land and Cecil tells me "When I say 'When', you're going to put your legs up 90 degrees and we're going to land and slide on our ball sacks. Got it?!"

So I steer us in and lord behold, we slide on our butts and ball sacks into a very nice graceful landing.

I wish I could explain in better detail what exactly everything felt like and how I felt throughout the whole experience but I really can't. It was the best experience of my life and you better believe I'm going back! All thanks to a really great instructor, Cecil. He's pretty cool.

Now it's your turn!