Up, Up and Away!

One incredible spring break adventure that I forgot to mention in my last post was that I went skydiving. That's right, skydiving!! Ok, so maybe it was a skydiving simulation, but this experience sure didn't fail to send my adrenaline pumping. At the conclusion of our Disney World vacation, we were on our way back to the airport when we passed by a building with a sign that said "Ifly." Upon recognizing the building, David's dad pulled the car into the parking lot and told us about his experience at a similar indoor skydiving location. After hearing his story, I was sold on trying it out myself...for the most part. I must admit that I got a case of cold feet once I observed a group ahead of us. The skydivers each took turns flying in a glass tunnel, with air blowing up through the bottom. The tunnel looked a little intimidating! I saw a huge fan at the very top and couldn't help but be reminded of the scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when Grandpa Joe and Charlie nearly hit the fan in the burping tunnel. However, the maneuvers the flyers practiced seemed very simple, and my confidence began to rise when I realized that I could surely do the same (that, and the flyers were no where near the daunting fan!)
Before we could hop in the flying tunnel, we attended a little session where we were taught how to fly. The instructor had each person practice the position we were to use in the tunnel, which was basically laying on your stomach with arms out to your sides but hands in front of you, and legs bent. We practiced and practiced until I was pretty sure I could instruct a class on it myself.  We were given jumpsuits, helmets, goggles, and earplugs, and we headed to the tunnel.
The confidence I felt in our practice session was just about equal to my floppiness inside the tunnel. Everything that I had learned left me once the wind hit my body, and my muscles couldn't seem to figure out how to move! Thankfully the instructor was in there helping to position us. At one point, my body figured out what it was doing and I was flying solo- that is, until I felt myself going higher and higher. I tried to maintain my position but the thought of the spinning fan that hovered above me made me crumple and fall. I may or may not have smacked into the wall once...or twice...
I quickly realized that indoor skydiving was much more difficult than it appeared, and that I would not only need practice to gain skills in it, but private instruction! But I will say that I had a blast. And now that I conquered indoor skydiving, who's to say that my next adventure won't be the real thing??