#gojumpoceanside

To celebrate my 25th birthday and being a quarter of a century old, I enlisted 5 of my friends to jump off a plane with me. We signed up for the 8AM time slot, so we had to get up bright and early!

Parking is available in a small lot or on the street. Since we were one of the first ones, there was plenty of parking. When you go into the office, they’ll ask you to sign your life away, I mean, sign a waiver, using the iPads. They also have a scale so you can provide your exact weight.

Once you sign your waivers, they’ll check for your ID and groupon ticket, so make sure you bring both! After you’re checked in, they’ll start calling out people’s names to get geared up!

My instructor was Sparky. When I asked him how long he had been doing this, he jokingly said 2 days; which didn’t help my nerves but definitely made me laugh. He assured me that he had over couple thousand jumps and have been doing this for over 10 years. Regardless, I was still pretty nervous.

As we were waiting, we took a bunch of ‘before’ pictures in our gear. Then, as everyone was all geared up, those of us who purchased the video option were ‘interviewed’ for our videos. The guys made it really fun and hyped us up before we got onto the plane.

Our group was the first plane of the day, and I went in last to be the first jump. I was afraid to watch my friends jump out first, so I volunteered to be first. It was a tight fit into the plane with 6 people, 6 instructors, and 1 extra instructor for my third person video footage. The plane ride was only about 15 minutes but it was the longest 15 minutes of my life.

When the time came to jump, it all happened so fast, all I could remember thinking was “DONT LOOK DOWN.” I kept my head up and back and off we went…

Free falling was definitely the coolest part. We even did a few spins! (You can see it in the video) I refrained from constantly screaming so I can control my breathing. I also had a trouble using my arms to make hand signals but I had a smile plastered on my face the whole time! When the parachute opened, it’ll definitely jerk you up and that hurt a little, kinda like a pinch. And I felt like the part when you’re drifting down was way scarier than free falling. I was also a little worried it was going to be freezing but for early October in San Diego, the weather was perfect.

It was amazing to see my friends in parachutes all around me in the sky. You can see the ocean, freeway, houses below, etc. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Unfortunately, I stumbled when I landed. I wasn’t sure when I was supposed to stand up and we tripped a bit. But it’s all good~ haha We had landed safely and that’s all that mattered.

Even though I was first out of the plane, I was second to last to land. Not sure why. But after everyone landed, they shuttled us in a bus back to the office.

Overall, it only took about 1hr and 30 min from the time we arrived to the time we left! Super quick! I think that everyone should skydive at least ONCE in their life. Truly a unique experience that will make you want to go again and again.

Let me know if you have any questions about my adventure!

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