This airplane right here is quite possibly the coolest plane that I have ever seen. This caravan used to come up from Shelton, WA on certain weekends during the summer so we could support all the crazy people who want to jump out of airplanes up here. That open space you can see just behind the wing...yep...that is where the skydivers jump out of! I will do that one day and I am hoping that it will be one day in August!
This last week I was going to see an old friend that I have not seen in a few years. He lives and works down in the Olympia area. That is almost two hours away. I had worked on some choreography for Zumba with a friend of mine in the morning and it ran longer than I think we both had anticipated but we nailed it by the time we left! My original intention was to go home, shower and then head to my dad's house to hang out with my sisters and nephews until my friend got off work and then head down to see him. By the time I was ready to walk out the door, my friend was supposed to be getting off work at any time so I just started driving.
I managed to make it through Seattle and Tacoma with very little traffic (yeah). I was getting closer to Olympia and had planned to just find a Starbucks and read my Nook until I heard from him. Unfortunately, I am just a few miles away and get a text message saying that he had to cancel. I was totally bummed...mainly because if I turned around and headed home just then, I would have been stuck in traffic for probably four or five hours to get through Tacoma and Seattle or Tacoma, Renton and Bellevue (depending on which direction I went).
I found a gas station and sent a text message to the pilot of the plane pictured above. He has become a really good friend of mine. I asked him what he was up to and he said that there was not anything going on so I decided Hell I just drove 1 hour and 45 minutes...I can drive another half hour. I headed out to Shelton and found Skydive Kapowsin and he was not lying...it was quite and not busy at all. He showed me around for a little while and then the weather opened long enough for them to put together a load and he asked if I wanted to go for a ride.
Seriously?! Of course I did! I paid and he got me all fixed up and into the plane. Everybody gets in and we take off. Now let me remind you that until a couple weeks ago, I had only flown commercially or in a Coast Guard helicopter but was taken for a flight in a Cessna 152. We fly higher and higher until we suddenly break out of the clouds. It was absolutely gorgeous. Blue skies, sun shining, the top of Mount Rainier was visible too! It took my breath away. I honestly think I had a smile plastered on my face the whole time. I will say it again but I do not want to be a pilot. I have too much fun looking out the window and prefer to just be along for the ride.
I watched these crazy people jump out of the plane and when they were all out and clear of the plane, he just dove! He said that we were going to descend at half the speed of free fall (which is 10,000 feet/minute). It was better than a roller coaster! It was the most exhilarating feeling! It really is the coolest thing I have ever done in an airplane and the BEST $25 I have ever spent! If that is how awesome it felt to fly down, I cannot wait to actually do a tandem! I am planning to go on a Tuesday in August. If anyone wants to go, let me know! Now I want to know what is the coolest thing you ever did for $25. Leave me a comment! Can anyone top mine?
Until next time!
