It was Don Ostertag who planted the seed for me to plan an Amtrak vacation holiday. (That’s in April, by the way, for all those who have just wished me Bon Voyage.) And it was Don Ostertag, a former US Paratrooper who recently reminded of the time I tried my hand at SkyDiving, albeit attached to a young fit guy who apparently knew what he was doing. Coincidentally, almost eight years ago to the day. I hope you enjoy this look back in time…
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The Reluctant Retiree 
Love the video, Gwen. You are certainly much braver than me. I do not have any thrill-seeking genes in my body. The most adventurous thing I’ve done was to catch a lift in a helicopter friends had to take down to Plettenbergbay in South Africa. They picked me up in Bloemfontein, and although it was an experience I will never forget, I cannot say that I would like to repeat it either. I was a nervous mess for the couple of hours it took to get there.
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Ooooh one of the MOST exciting helicopter flights I had was over the Remarkable Mountains in New Zealand’s South Island.
It had snowed the night before. The thermals were gusty, so as we reached the top of the mountain, we were a little buffeted. But then we descended to a ridge line and landed – rotors going so we didn’t sink into the fresh deep snow – and jumped out for a look around. The snow came up to my knees. On the return leg I had a turn in the front passenger seat. It was one of those helicopters whose front is all-round perspex so I could look at what was under my feet. Not sure you would see the fun in that … but I can assure you the delightful memory will never leave me.
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I found myself holding my breath reading about your experience, Gwen. Yip, definitely not for me, but I can see the thrill, beauty and wonderful memory it holds for you. I’d much rather sit back and watch a documentary through your eyes of the experience than being the one in that front seat.
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Okay. Stick with me and I’ll take you places, hahaha
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That’s a deal. 😇
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That was a great skydiving video, Gwen!
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Thank you Lavinia. And I noticed that recently you had quite the catchup on some of my other older posts. Thank you for liking them 🙂
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Thanks for a chance to relive that post, Gwen. I must admit that kind of jumping was something I never experienced. I wish I had.
And now, onto your train trip.
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Let me count the differences … no static line, aerodynamic parachute, attached to someone who’s doing all the work, and – oh! No one shooting at me. Yep. I can see why you’d have preferred doing it this way 🙂
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I thought for a moment that you were very close to dropping into the ocean. But you didn’t. Magic.
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They have an alternative landing spot when the winds are so high that falling in the ocean is a serious possibility.
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