Free falling

I promised I'd tell the story of the bridge.

Long story short, we ended up arriving at the bridge climb meeting place sweating and out of breath (with strained calves even before we start climbing the bridge) because we got a little lost...by no fault of my own, I must add. We collectively got ourselves lost...

Skip through all the orientation process and release signing to the part where our guide was handing out blue and silver jumpsuits and advising us to wear them "without layers", which, in American, meant strip down to your knickers. I didn't have a personal problem with those instructions, but as it turns out, in Kaylee's world, wearing exercise shorts with the built-in mesh undies means you don't need any additional panties. So, unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Kaylee was undergoing a bit of a personal struggle when she received these instructions, but, as the problem-solver she is, decided to just leave her shorts on instead of going commando.

The rest of the bridge climb involved strapping ourselves to a cable that ran all the way up the bridge, climbing a few ladders and then following a shallow staircase up the rest of the way. It was an incredible view of the city and we got a free picture of it (and certificate of accomplishment and all that jazz).

Can I move on to today?

Thanks.

Today I legitimately crossed an item off my bucket list and jumped out of an airplane at 14,000 feet in the air, free-falling and parachuting my way to the ground.

COOLEST, MOST EXHILARATING AND TERRIFYING THING I'VE EVERDONEINMYLIFEEVER!!

No, but seriously, it was absolutely amazing, even considering the simultaneous visit from mother nature in an effort to ruin my week (ladies, please sympathize).

It's hard to find words to describe it. I remember a few days ago we were landing in Sydney, and as the plane was nearing 40,000 feet, I was looking out the window to mentally calculate while my stomach and my heart took a run for it. I definitely thought that if it was that bad two days in advance, I wouldn't make it on the day of.

But, wasn't too nervous. Got all geared up, met my partner Pricey, who tried to calm my fears by telling me it was the scariest thing he has ever done and showing me his missing middle finger. Cool.

^ Terrified look

We then trucked it over to the airport, packed about 12 of us into a plane where there was only enough room for all of us to sit butt to crotch (sorry for the visual), and then literally, before you know it (and about ten times higher than I expected to go), people were dropping out of the plane like flies and my partner is scooting me along from behind while I'm internally screaming (NO, PLEASE DEAR GOD NO). And then, hello, my feet are hanging off the side of a moving plane and the thought occurs to me that I'm leaving behind a perfectly good airplane for a whole bunch of empty space and as fast as the thought occurs, I'm flying through the air spinning and screaming like a howl monkey on roids and my cheeks are flapping in the wind like boat sails. Two seconds later, the inside of my mouth is completely dry, yet I continue to scream, because my body has absolutely no idea how else to react.

Dry mouth

Checking to see if my ears are still there

I guess the free fall is sixty seconds, but right about when I started thinking that I should stop screaming (or just started thinking in general), my partner pulls the chute and we whip backwards and I gently hang in the air with nothing attached to me but a large piece of fabric and another human. Then I realize that my ears/head are holding 10,000 feet worth of air pressure and my instructor is yelling at me and asking me questions and the only thing I can think to say is, "OMG I can't hear a thing, just give me a moment" (refer to skydiving video). After which I catch bits and pieces of him talking that sounds like, "Just do like a blowfish face and pop your ears out" which was ridiculous-looking but effective, thereby allowing me to enjoy the scenery from that point on, which was incredible if I do say so myself.

That's about it. Then we landed in a beautiful open field and I felt the most accomplished I've ever felt in my life and thought to myself, "I hope my dad doesn't kill me now that I've survived jumping out of a plane".

Additional information:
- don't order still water at a restaurant, as it costs $13.00 a bottle
- no one told me about the monster Aussie bats
- everything is sweeter in America, i.e. has much more sugar in it.

Thanks for listening, folks

Manders