Wind Tunnel Sky Diving

I have tried three times to upload the DVD from our sky diving adventure at Paraclete's on Saturday but have had no luck. So now, I'm faced with trying to find the words to explain how much FUN this event was.

We had five people in our group and added on with two other women for a training session. I thought it was interesting that they were about my age (44 for those of you who don't know). Apparently, us forty-somethings are quite the daredevils! We had a quick instuctional video, then Shawn, our professional, laid on a table to show us the pose he wants us to take when we enter the tunnel.

Next step, make sure you look the part! We got elbow and knee pads, a very cool jumpsuit, goggles and a helmet. This is our group and the only photo we have of all of us. Once we entered the waiting area of the tunnel, no cameras were allowed. The wind is not kind to cameras.

On to the tunnel. There are benches along a glass wall that are similar to the ones in a plane. The first person is closest to the door of the tunnel. That was my Rick. Since all of this was his idea, he had to go first. He stood at the door, leaned in and took off. It was so cool! Shawn helped him get his form right then let him float around. We rotated in and out in one minute cycles. Rick's buddy, Joe, was next. My butterflies were working overtime! (I visited the potty before I put the jumpsuit on just in case!) Will was after Joe. Each boy got their form right and were having a ball. When Will came back through the door and it was my turn to go in the tunnel, I didn't have time to change my mind. I got close to the door and Shawn pulled me in.

Grown-ups don't get as much floating time as the kids do. He got me in the correct position, let me float for a few seconds, then gave a signal to the guy in the booth that controls the air flow. He told him to jack it up, grab hold of my leg and shot both of us to the top of the tunnel. The wind really flaps your face around. You're supposed to keep your mouth closed so spit doesn't fly out of your mouth. I am a chronic grinner and being in the tunnel did not change this. I was having so much fun, all of my teeth were showing. Let the spit fly! I think I squealed a lot, too! My 60 seconds were gone in no time. Shawn guided me to the door and I pulled myself out. Tony was up next and very quickly learned to float around in circles. He got to shoot up to the ceiling, too.

We had 10 minutes of flying time and it was wonderful. By the time we finished, the boys had shot to the ceiling and were kicking off the wall. Shawn had Tony and me feeling like yo-yos when he grabbed hold and flew us up and down and up and down so many times I lost count.

We were so amped on adrenaline we couldn't stop talking and grinning. We didn't realize how loud we were until we stopped at the Lone Star for lunch. We were starving. When our appetizer arrived, we all started eating and realized there was dead silence in the restaurant. We had been so loud before our food arrived, it could have been happy hour.

In the words of Will and Rick, "When are we going back?" I think we should build a wind tunnel in Raleigh! What was that movie that said, "Build it, they will come." I'll be there!

Since I couldn't get my video to up-load, visit the website so you can see how much fun this is! If you decide to go, let me know and I'll meet you there! http://paracletexp.com/front_page