Today we drove over to Upolu airport on the north tip of the island for a skydiving… Tour? Adventure? Sanity test?

And it was incredible.

No, I probably won’t do it again, but since we each did a tandem jump, it wasn’t terribly difficult. I didn’t even have to actually jump out of the plane. The guy I was strapped to handled getting us out the door.

After putting us into our harnesses, we were given instructions for what to do. I got to get out of the plane first, so I had fewer instructions than Ryan did. My guy said, ” hips forward, head and legs back, like a banana.” And, “You’ll put your feet on the step and I’ll push us out of the plane.” Ryan got all of the banana stuff plus a bunch regarding exactly HOW to get out of the plane since he was in the back of it. The flight up took longer than the descent and Ryan got some really beautiful views of the green side of the island. I’m short, and I was tucked in next to the pilot’s seat, so I couldn’t see as well.

Putting my feet on the step was a little more difficult than I had expected due to the tight quarters, but I think other than a quick, “Oh God” that came out of my mouth when the door flew up, I comported myself rather well.

You move so fast before the chute opens that it’s really breathtaking, and then the chute is opened and everything calms down. Ryan says they tumbled a bit when they came out, but since I was first I didn’t see that.

There was a man mowing the grass at the airport and he mowed in some art – a smilie face and mele kalikimaka. That was a fun touch.

There will be a video or two, I’m not sure, by Saturday night. When we have the link, I’ll be sure to send it out.

Oh, and the oldest person my guy has ever taken up was 88. The only thing a person needs, is to be able to lift their legs up like for sitting.

That, and probably some sort of mental impairment that makes them think that jumping out of a perfectly good, fully functional plane is a good idea.