Go Fish, Isaac!

Cheryl is off to see her sister Karen, and enjoy a couple of days celebrating her birthday. That leaves Isaac, Julia and I home alone for the weekend. While the cat is away...! The kids and I headed out right behind her to pick up a pizza, bring it home and have a little "Game Night". Isaac finished eating a little earlier so he and I decide to play a "grown-up" - that means one of the games from the hall closet (where we keep the games that are just a bit over their head).

Isaac is pretty solid with number recognition, so what game would be better with that skill - GO FISH! He did great - even won! we did have to work a bit on the concepts, though. He didn't get at first that when I called for a card that he had, that was not something to get excited about and cheered for me when I did! So, I returned the favor - it was an exceedingly cordial game! He also needed help fanning his cards but beyond that, he picked up the game quickly. We had a blast! Julia even had fun watching for us while she ate! What a night!

Head in the Clouds: My First Skydive

Experiences, I'm convinced will define our memory of our lives. It is also particularly the new ones that will stand out! I'm convinced that this is why time seems to fly faster and faster as I age: I have fewer and fewer opportunities to do something I've never done. This weekend I made a memory that will certainly stand out! I went SKYDIVING!

The opportnity came when a friend offered to let me use one of 2 vouchers that he had gotten as a gift. Of course I accepted, and of course Cheryl and the kids wanted to be there. So, we made plans and on Saturday, we loaded up and took off.

Let me say right up front, skydiving is awesome! It was everything that I had hoped for and more. I can hardly express how great it was, but that has never stopped me from trying. So, here goes.

First, was I scared. Actually, no. I was not scared at any point (this could be a bad sign but I'm going to go with it!) Maybe the all the rationales worked on me: "The odds are far higher of [blah,blah,blah]" and "People do this all the time!" Whatever it was, I honestly didn't have any point at which I thought twice about doing it. Instead, it was a total rush from the moment I put on the harness to the moment I put my feet back on the ground.

We arrived in Beeville at around 3 and did the paperwork - scads of papers to sign. "Yes, I know I could die", "Yes, I agree not to sue if I die", "No, my family won't either." (I seriously think that a hand cramp from all the signing was about the worst injury I risked!) The training was brief - "This is a plane. You will jump out here" - and we were off to the airport.

At the field we decided I would jump first (small plane = 1 at a time). They strapped me into a harness that was tight enough to kill any hope of walking normally to the plane. Then we climbed into the plane - a Cessna. The plane likely at one point had more than one seat, but not now. I sat with my back to the pilot and 3 other guys (2 solos and my instructor) piled in around me. We looked more like a clown car than a serious skydiving operation. Once in the air, though, it was great. We circled the field gaining altitude and enjoying the view. The guys even had a little fun with me asking the instructor if he had taken his meds. He naturally replied, "No, I haven't blacked out in days!"

Then - we hit altitude. 2 miles.

When the door came open it was finally "real." I was about to jump OUT that door ... at 2 miles up! The instructor attached to my harness and we moved to the door ... awesome. I followed my training and put my right foot out on the strut ... Awesome. I grabbed tight to my chest harness and a second later felt his weight come out behind me and watched the plane fall away behind us ... AWESOME!

The freefall was intense in every way: Strange G-forces in so many directions, the wind literally screaming past, the earth in every direction with nothing between, the amazing sensations of literally flying through the sky at an incredible speed. In 45 seconds we had just enough time to look around and do a couple of 360's just to see the sights.

I was warned on the ground that the chute opening would be quite a jerk. It was not, however, as bad as what I was prepared for. In a moment we were floating serenely under the canopy and all the intensity of freefall was replaced by calm and quiet. We did a couple of sharp turns in a figure-8, and then prepared to land.

The landing was a breeze. To keep from risking a face-plant, we came in with our feet out and plopped down in the field just a few yards from where Cheryl and the kids were watching. Then it was Will's turn.

Would I do it again? HECK, yes! Unfortunantly it is a bit pricey. You could spend 3 to 4 thousand easily gettng trained and geared up. Sadly the inflight video was pretty pricey, too. But, my personal videographer/photographer was there so we go the video below.

If you ever get a chance ... GO SKYDIVE! Meanwhile, enjoy this video...

Back Home

We pulled into the drive last night at midnight. We are now home and our vacation is just about over. It has been a great week, but it seems that an unexpected benefit of going away is appreciating being home again. After a week of amazing sights and experiences, after a week of new places and faces, after a week of getting up and going down at unusual times, it is nice to be back in our little house with familiar things and ... soon ... the familiar faces of our children.

Missing the kids was beginning to drive our attention from the things of vacation. All of the wonderful distractions of our adventure were loosing their hold, and at just the right time, we were wrapping up the time off. Now we are anticipating seeing them soon!

Being off will certainly have its lasting effects. I got up this morning late (unusual for me) and took the time to make myself a Carmel Machiatto - something my mornings never afford me the time to do. Maybe, along with the souvenirs, pictures and memories, I'll take home a renewed commitment to taking time to relax. Ahhh .... Vacation!

Olympic Dreams

Our last full day of vacation held a real surprise – rubbing elbows with Olympic athletes at the Utah Olympic Park (UOP). If you are not familiar with it, the UOP was the site of ski jumping and sledding events in the 2002 Olympics. Thursday AM we had already found out about the events going on – bob sled and skeleton. Jake found out from a worker that not only were the ‘camps’ have more events on Friday but that in the evening they would have events starring many national level athletes and even past Olympians. We showed up and the evening was awesome on several counts.

First, the athletes were outstanding. We had already seen runs by the ‘amatuers’ that were amazing to watch, but these athletes were clearly a notch above that. Cheryl said it best, “This just doesn’t get old!” Agreed – every time a sled came by, we were awed by the speed and spectacle.

Second, we had better than front row seats - we were almost the only people there that weren't directly involved. This was apparently not a publicized event! We just showed up and walked up to the track. No one batted an eye as we walked the length of the track and stood just a couple of feet away watching them go by - WOW! We were able to hang out at the landing area (half way back up the mountain where they come to a stop and even ride up with the athletes to the starting area. Absolutely surreal! These were world class Olympians and we were just chatting with them and milling around in the crowd. Wahoo.

We watched a number of starts in men's skeleton, women's 2 person bobsled and men's 4 person bobsled. All fascinating. If you know me at all, you'll know that I watch almost no televised sports. But, after this weekend, I'm thinking about following sledding! ... and just in time for Vancouver 2010!

On Vacation

Oh the joys of a vacation. It is not often that I take time for a vacation. We've really not done this type of a trip since our honeymoon, so the last week has been a real change for us. The real highlights have been the sights like the Olympic Park and Arches National Park and, especially, the time I've gotten to spend with Cheryl all to ourselves. Cheryl has done quite a few posts on the trip's goings on, but I thought that I'd add my 2 cents worth here, so here we go with the highlights...

SUNDAY - Olympic Park
We visited the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics ski jumping and sledding events (bob-sled, luge and skeleton). The big fun there was a zip line that ran the entire length of the longest jump - Weee!

MONDAY - Shopping
We spent most of the day Monday piddling around town. We saw the "Main Street" and walked most of it looking in shops and such.

TUESDAY - Hiking and a Date
Cheryl and I really wanted to get outdoors and this was our chance. We walked out of the resort and right onto a dirt service road that led up the nearest ski mountain. We followed these service roads most of the way to the top. It was a LOT of uphill hiking, but it was rewarding to say the least. Amazing views and probably the most fun part - just enjoying it with Cheryl.

WEDNESDAY - Arches National Park
Utah is an outdoor enthusiasts dream land - amazing national parks with stunning sights. Although the biggest and best parks were several hours south of us, we planned from the beginning to go see at least one of these parks. Arches seemed the mosted doable, so we got up really early (5am!) and gt on the road. The drive alone was incredible - mountain passes, high deserts, waterfalls .... WOW!

The park, though was the best part. Enter by switch-back road into an absolutely phenomenal menagerie of sandstone spires, fins and arches. Strange shapes everywhere and most of them towering over you hundreds of feet in the air. We got out and hiked a short trail to see the "Delicate Arch" and were blown away by the view and the surreal immensity of the arch. After dinner in Moab, we drove home in the dark and slept well!

THURSDAY - Back to Olympic Park
We had heard that some athletes would be practicing on the ski jump so we headed back to the park for the morning. They were practicing - it was fascinating to see them jump without snow! The jump was iced over mechanically and the landing was a synthetic material that was wet down. The jump then ran out into a grassy area, where the skiers came to a stop on green turf - crazy to watch.

The big surprise was when we walked over to look at the bob-sled track and realized it was not only up and running but they were actually running Skeleton and Bobsleds that afternoon. We got to stand right by the track as athletes rocketed past at 74mph+ speeds. It was amazing! TV does not do the sport justice! Wow! ... WOW!

FRIDAY ... hmmm, we'll see!
Today looks to be a quieter day as we get ready to head home tomorrow. Any excitement will have to come in the next post!

Ahhh .... VACATION! (more pics on Facebook!)