Chris.Derecola

Just a few years ago, I had absolutely no desire to skydive. I knew a lot of people that had done it or talked about wanting to, but it wasn’t really anything that interested me. I can’t say I had a fear of it per se, but a fear of flying and a strong fear of heights put it firmly into the category of something I could go my entire life without doing.

Thinking back, I have no idea what changed my mind. My fear of heights has remain unchanged, but my fear of flying has reduced dramatically with all the traveling Melissa and I have done. A few flight lessons in the last six months certainly doesn’t hurt, but I’d already long added skydiving to my Life List. If anything, the single greatest contributor is me realizing that life is about experiences and wanting to do as many cool things as I can before I die.

As I said, it’s been on my list for a few years. It was always something you half think about doing but doesn’t work out for one reason for another. The reason we did it when we did was really just a confluence of events. My mom had previously gotten me a gift certificate (for my birthday, I think [Thanks Mom!]) and we were going to be back in Virginia for a wedding, so it was probably the only opportunity we’d have to redeem it.

I really thought I was going to be MUCH more nervous than I was. I mean, I used to freak out just getting on a commercial airliner but for whatever reason, I was very ready to make it happen. We were really busy in the days leading up to it and I didn’t have much time to dwell, so that probably helped. My two pilot “lessons” have helped me to look my fears square in the eyes, so the idea of getting on a small plane didn’t bother me either. If I’m honest, I didn’t even really have what I would describe as nervousness until we were in the plane climbing past 3,000 feet. For the record, we would continue climbing and eventually jump out at around 14,000 feet.

The hardest part was the squat waddling to the edge of the plane door with a dude strapped VERY tightly to your back. I didn’t have trouble because I was scared of jumping out, but rather because I have bad knees, I’m very much out of shape and I am uncoordinated. I just physically had a hard time doing it (which you will see in the video). I did have a brief few seconds of panic when Melissa jumped out right before me, but I think that was more about worrying for her safety and not because I was about to do the same thing.

Then, we fell out of the plane. It was cold, it was windy, it was confusing and I was massively queasy from the flips we did as we exited. I have a long standing (genetic) history of vertigo and despite always having meds with me, I completely blanked on taking them beforehand. Unfortunately, this meant I spent most of the time in free fall trying to gain my bearings and all the time under canopy concentrating on not throwing up. We didn’t do any maneuvers because I wasn’t feeling well, which is a shame because I bet that stuff would be cool to experience. The best way to describe the whole experience is disorienting.

Would I do it again? The whole way down I couldn’t wait to be on the ground. I felt seriously ill, I just wanted it to be over and I was pretty certain it was going to be my first and only time skydiving. Once we landed and I gained my bearings, my opinion changed to “maybe.” Now that I’ve had time to process everything, I’d say there’s a decent chance I’ll do it again. I’d really like to experience the whole thing without feeling sick and concentrate on enjoying myself. I’m not gonna rush out and do it again tomorrow, but if someone is getting a group together or we’re somewhere cool and want to see it from the air, I’m probably there.

This past weekend, we traveled to the east coast for the first time since we moved. The nature of such a visit meant we crammed a whole lotta activities into a short amount of time. We knew it was gonna be a busy weekend going in, but I don’t think we were really ready for all the stuff we ticked off our list. Here’s a (not so) brief look at what we did.

• Friday AM flight through Chicago to Richmond
• Pick up rental car and drive 100 miles to Orange, Virginia
• Check into our hotel around midnight and rush to sleep
• Wake up at 8:30 (very early when you’re on Pacific Time), eat breakfast and check out
• Drive 15 minutes to Skydive Orange, so I can use a gift certificate from my mom
• JUMP OUT OF A PLANE AT 14K FEET (and cross something off my Life List)
• Drive 100 miles back to Richmond and check into the second hotel
• Grab some lunch and a beer… and leave my credit card in the bill where it mysteriously disappears
• Head back to the hotel to get dressed up for a wedding
• Attend Mike and Heather’s wedding at the Edgar Allan Poe Museum
• Drink mojitos, Mexican beers and shots of tequila at the reception
• Wake up a smidge before 8, check out and drive 4.5 hours to New Jersey
• Attend my niece’s sixth birthday party
• Watch the Flyers beat the Penguins before going out to dinner with the fam
• Sleep in our third bed in as many nights
• Wake up after everyone left for the day and cook/eat the scrapple my sister was nice enough to buy (it’s not available in WA)
• Drive to Philly to visit with one of my fraternity brothers, meet his newborn son Abe and see the rowhome they remodeled
• Drop the rental off at the Philadelphia Airport
• Fly home Monday PM through Denver
• Climb into bed at 12:08 am Tuesday morning, after setting the alarm for work

Mike and Heather’s wedding was great, making perfect use (credit: Mike’s mom) of the sunny 75 degree weather. I think they’re perfect for one another (something I told Mike more than I probably should have before they got engaged) and was really happy to see them make it official. Much of their wedding was unconventional, or perhaps just atypical for weddings these days, but it fit them well. The reception seemed to be a continuation of the bachelor party we had for Mike in New Orleans last month, only with all our wives there. [I don't care what you say Mike, that was not music you could dance to.] I’m not gonna lie, I’m jealous of their honeymoon in France and a host of other countries. Anyway, congrats you two! We can’t wait to lobby you to move to Seattle. <grin>

The skydiving? It was definitely a life experience. I’ll write a separate post once I get the video online.

So, yeah… it was a nutso weekend. I felt a bit like the undead at times and I’m still recovering, but I regret nothing.

I was going to quietly mark this item off my Life List, but I wondered if crossing something off one’s List isn’t worth noting than what is?

So, yeah… I flew a helicopter. I intended to do it years ago, when Melissa bought me an Xperience Days certificate, but I never got around to it for one reason or another. Actually, by the time I got around to it, Xperience had removed the Manassas, Virginia helicopter company from their list of providers and did not have a similar offering within a two hour drive for years after that. Fast forward a half decade, or there abouts, and I realize Xperience offers one in Seattle.

The mechanics of flight have always fascinated me, a fascination that survived a severe fear of flying after a dramatic childhood incident on a commercial jet liner. Through my travels and many flights, I’ve gradually overcome the fear and turned it into a minor obsession with piloting. I was instantly hooked on helicopters after my first ride, a glacier tour/landing in Alaska. My only other experience was a Big Island tour in Hawaii, but I knew I wanted to eventually get behind the wheel/stick/yolk/thingy.

Having done a fixed wing lesson a few months ago, I kinda knew what to expect. I would show up at some obscure location, hand over my certificate, have a brief conversation with some random guy, get a quick once over on the machine and then take off into the wild blue yonder. This experience really wasn’t any different. The location was the less-than-obscure Boeing Field but would you believe I didn’t and can’t remember my instructor’s name? I suck with names.

The experience itself was. just. plain. awesome. I’m not even sure how to describe it to someone that hasn’t done it, other than pure joy. That feeling when you lift off the ground, spin around, and zoom off over the land at 100 mph isn’t like anything else. Then there’s the piloting thing. The helicopter was super sensitive to inputs but with some coaching, I was able to control it relatively well despite the high winds. (The instructor asked if I played a lot of video games. Apparently people who play have a natural tendency for the multi-input, fine motor skills control. Ha!) There’s a lot of information to process, and I definitely wasn’t great at that part, but the feeling of power and freedom makes it worth the pure disorientation of it all. Flying around the Space Needle, at eye level with the people on the platform, was cool… but nothing compares to pitching the helicopter into a turn and looking straight down at the ground. Oh and a helicopter is a GREAT way to see a city you just moved to.

What’s next? Well, I have a voucher for another go ’round but after that who knows. A year or so ago I looked into getting a helicopter pilot’s license, but deemed it entirely too expensive and impractical unless I wanted to make a complete career change. In talking with the instructor about what it takes to be an EMT pilot, it sounds like I should expect to blow roughly $75,000 and 10 years of my life. Yeah. If I ever feel the need to get a doctorate, maybe I’ll just get a helicopter pilot’s license instead. Until then? Continue purchasing experience vouchers, I guess.