Family adventure

After hearing about my sister and some of my friends' experiences skydiving last summer, it sounded like something I wanted to try. This spring, I stumbled across a Groupon for skydiving in Wisconsin--and figured, what a great graduation present to myself! My sisters and I went on this adventure together this past Saturday- jumping out of a plane from 14,000 feet in the air.

Eleni, me and Maria- all in our college shirts!

Many asked us if we were scared, and none of us really were. I thought I'd panic the morning of the dive, but never felt a fear in my stomach. The biggest scare came from signing three packets of waivers claiming the skydiving company cannot be sued for injuries, death or any issues that arise in your experience. My sisters and I were those people that actually read the waiver, and it brought more ideas to our heads. You sign off on saying the company is not responsible for any mid-air collisions, issues with the harness or other equipment. You initial a statement that says "I understand that parachute jumping will expose me to risk of personal injury or death." They really know how to get you- you can pay $500 to NOT sign parts of the waiver that let you sue them. Nice to know that if you die skydiving, it costs the price of the dive + $500 to sue them. Oh America.

Enough about legal documentation. The experience is technically "tandem skydiving," where there is an experienced skydiver behind you and your harnesses are latched together when you jump. You sit through a short class of instructions, where we learned that diving from 14,000 feet up gives you slightly over a minute of free fall, then some parachute time. There is no depth perception at that altitude, and you fall at 135 mph, and when the parachute goes up at 5,000 feet, you slow to 24 mph. Another reassuring statistic they provide is "jumping out of this plane is statistically safer than you driving here." Interesting!

Us on the plane with our tandem buddies and photographers

We waited a few hours, got harnessed up and met our instructors and photographers that would be on the plane with us! They document and videotape your experience too and do a great job (see photos below).  Maria, Eleni and I jumped from youngest to oldest, and all enjoyed it.

The coolest aspect to me was that it didn't feel like "diving" or "freefalling" - it felt like floating or flying in the air. The speed was unreal and seeing the land below, watching you get your depth perception back and seeing lake Michigan was phenomenal. It was the slowest minute of my life, taking in the beauty and not feeling a bit of fear doing it. The temperature was about ~3 degrees colder for every 1,000 feet up, so the cold air felt amazing. No one got sick, and I was the only sister who felt slightly nauseous after flipping and spinning in circles with my tandem instructor.

I'd highly recommend skydiving to anyone interested in being adventurous and assure you that it will be one of the most captivating minutes of your life!

Check these pictures out to see more!