Sky’s the limit!

My best & craziest adventure evvver was a surprise gift from Mr.A on our very first anniversary – a sky dive. I shared this picture  as an entry for the ‘Adventure‘ prompt on the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge last week, but as promised, I am writing a bit more about my experience…

I had no idea about Mr.A’s plans until the night before we actually did the jump. It was supposed to be a vacation in Sydney, sight-seeing, wining-dining, relaxing, all of which went great. And then on the evening before our final day in Sydney, he drops this on me –  tomorrow, my dear, we do a sky jump. Bam. Whoosh. I go, whattt?! My first reaction was, are you kidding me? But it didn’t really take much thought to get all pumped up about the awesomeness of the idea!

Rightly said, too

Up

Everything will be okay!

 

So next morning, off we went nestling butterflies in our tummies. We signed on at the office, suited up, then drove in a little van to the airs-trip. Ironically or appropriately, the radio was playing “don’t worry, be happy” at one point during that drive. Mr.A & I looked at each other and laughed, nervous, excited, pumped-up, all at once. At the air-strip a tiny plain stood to fly seven of us – 3 pairs of tandem jumpers and the pilot. It’s the smallest air plane I have even been in, no seats, we sat lined up on the floor, and to tell you the truth, I wasn’t fully confident that this toy plane could actually fly even as the engine started and we took off to reach the jump level of 9000 feet.

Upside down

Down we go

Free fall

Whoosh!

I was the smallest of the jumpers, so my turn was first, and what can I say, it was the feeling of ultimate exhilaration when my feet left contact with the plane. I still hold that vision in memory, the airplane flying past my line of sight, glinting in the sun as we flipped over once and then… free fall! That rush I can’t really describe. Wind gushed past, I was so full of wonder I couldn’t blink , and I remember I wasn’t screaming either, just open-mouthed gaping! As we fell to a certain height, the instructor pulled the cords of the parachute and it spread open overhead. Everything became so peaceful and calm, as we glided through the air, watching the lush green fields and pools way below us.

As I said, best adventure evvver! Thanks Mr.A, you make me brave! ❤

oh beauty

Slowly drifting

Gently gliding

You spotted me…

…and I spotted you!

Far below…

So, what’s your craziest adventure yet?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon

Hey friends, I’m jumping on to the weekly photo challenge wagon up at the Daily Post. I went through several of the previous challenges and it seems like a lot of fun. So here goes!

This picture was clicked from the ferry boat that took us from Den Helder, the northern tip of the North Holland peninsula, to Texel, a lovely little island with a beautiful sandy beach. We drove from Amsterdam to experience the Dutch countryside in a tight schedule of one day. The drive was exciting since a good friend who we met after two years had joined us on the road-trip. And the road to Texel was amazingly beautiful with lots of green fields, little towns scattered along the way, and the quintessential Dutch windmill, both the rustic and the modern kind. On the ferry we could look into the distance between the sea and sky, with the sun burning a silver-gold patch on the water through the clouds. I’ll share more pics from that trip another time, but for now, this click stands here for the weekly challenge. See you soon again!