I was HIGH on my BDay

I had a fantastic day and I owe it all to my wife and kids..

I was told to be awake by 8AM so we could be out and somewhere by 9AM. Liz and I had been joking all week because she said she put something together that was appropriate for the adrenaline junkie that I am. Well, I know I would like to do a lot of things but never actually thought I'd get to do many of them. We joked about alligator wrestling, cave diving, spelunking and other goofy ideas. I really had lots of ideas but thought I'd end up paint balling or something more grounded.

We drove by and picked up Ximena and Matt (sis and hubby), and started driving towards the everglades on the Homestead side, by the time we reached the end of the road and the last farm we turned and were in front of Homestead Regional Airport . The first thing I noticed was that there was an Ultra Light club there and thought "wow that is cool, I hope this is what I will do...". Then as we turned into the airport we drove by one building as Liz looked for what she wanted to find when suddenly I see a sign that said Miami Skydiving. The only thing I could think to say was "hijos de puta", I won't translate this.

Yes I was going skydiving, which is such a thing I wanted to do but never thought I'd get to it. We got out and walked by a plane and proceeded to check in. There were options and I would tell you all of them but instead go check them out yourself at their website . I ended up with the longest Tandem free fall they offered of 1 minute and 2-3 of parachute fall and full DVD picture package.

So, my camera man, quite the joker was also called Sergio and we had a few laughs while I waited for the instructor/tandem jumper coming with me. As the plane was boarding out comes this big viking of a man, LOL, really nice guy though (in case you ever read this). Once on the plane we put our helmets on for takeoff and then he said I could remove it. As we flew Sergio asked me a few questions for the video, and there was a sense of anticipation but it was a fairly calm short flight. Then came the moment of truth.

The viking told me to kneel on the floor and arch my back as he clipped onto the back of my harness, we scooted up to the opening where he had explained I would duck my head out the door tilt it back and cross my arms. At this point I am at his mercy, my body is out the door no hands to hold me in and even my head can't lean on the door frame...then "GO!".

WHHHOOOOSSSSHHH, WHIIIRRRRRR,,,SSHHHHSHSHSHSHSHSHRRRRRGRGRGRGRGRG. These are the things you hear at terminal velocity of 120 mph. Then my lips were flapping, my eyes were tearing but I loved it.

Two taps and I can unfold my arms, then Sergio (Camera man in a Batman suit) is in front of my waving, prompting me to do things like Shaka sign, at this point I could not make my hands do what I was thinking, weird but obvious in pictures later, I was hooting hollering...WOW. Viking spins us around several times, pretty fast, I can see the clouds below, I want to feel and see as we go through them....oh shit, they've already passed look up there they go....The floor is coming super fast, like if you were in a falling glass elevator only louder. He grabs my left hand I see 6000...5500 ft, I know I have to pull the orange ball, he couldn't wait, he ejected the chute. Whip, flap and all goes silent, my legs swing out and back and then steady. I am now floating, it is an awesome view, the air is crisp, I look around and then he says, "look up, you see that...(tangled twisted right end of the chute) that is not good, I am going to release it and use the secondary chute." UHHHHH, OK?!?! We free fall again for a few seconds, then the chute comes out, it felt different, not as crisp an opening, but it looks normal. I never saw the falling chute but it created it's own havoc on the ground that Liz will have to explain on her own blog.

I have to say it left me in such a buzz the rest of the day, I could not figure out fast or slow driving, I could not answer many questions, I had had a double adrenaline rush that had depleted me more than Leadville. I was in a state of strange bliss for hours.

Liz that was a spectacular gift, it may even be considered a disease with no cure.

And here are the pictures...more about the BDay later.