I honestly never, ever, EVER, thought I would jump out of an airplane.
I’m not necessarily afraid of heights, but I have a love/hate relationship with that stomach drop feeling, and I really didn’t feel like getting splattered to death. (Jarden on the other hand is the direct opposite. He wants to get certified. Ha!) Although I’m a thrill seeker, I never thought I would do the ultimate and put your life in the hands of a parachute. But I did it. And I survived!
And it only took me 3 tries!
Read More: 5 Things No One Tells You About Skydiving
Wait, What? Ok, let me start from the beginning. Because I have major FOMO and a bunch of friends who told me, “Really Tash, you’re really going to be the only one that doesn’t jump?”, (peer pressure much?! lol), I found myself on the way to the north shore, literally signing my life away to Pacific Skydiving Honolulu. After an instructional/safety briefing, with an emphasis on the brief, we sat and waited to suit up and jump. And waited. and waited. and waited. 3 hours later we were informed that the weather turned sour, and conditions were no longer safe to jump.
BIGGEST. BUZZKILL. EVER.
I know I was nauseous and didn’t want to go, but I was actually ready! I psyched myself out! I listened to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” on the drive over! But in the end the most we could do was reschedule, and hope for a sunnier Sunday.
It turned out that our next Sunday wasn’t so sunny after all. Although we got the ok in the morning that the weather was good, we waited another couple of hours watching the clouds roll in, getting more bad news from the staff. I had no idea that skydiving was so dependent on near perfect weather! We once again rescheduled, praying our next time would finally be it. At least we knew they took their safety standards seriously. (And good thing you don’t pay until after your jump!)
Finally, as the title says, third times the charm.
On this day we suited up, met our partners for the jump, and headed on over to the tiny airplane. Seriously, it was super minuscule and I don’t know how it held 10+ people. At this point I was glad to finally be doing the deed, but I also felt sick to my stomach. Was I really going to jump out of an airplane? As the aircraft rose higher and higher to 14,000 ft, I really thought I was going to hurl. We were so high up! The camera guy then opened the door, and all I saw were clouds and sky.
“Oh f*ck, oh f*ck, oh f*ck.”
That’s really all I could sputter out of my mouth. I watched my husband and our friend jump out before me, their bodies whizzing out of the plane so fast you would miss them if you blinked. As my turn came, I stepped up to the door, smiled at the camera man, looked out below, and saw the vast, blue, pacific ocean. Next thing I knew, my guy rocked us out of the plane, and with one last gasp I was free falling.
It’s nothing like you’ve ever experienced.
It’s extremely loud and you don’t have that butterfly feeling whatsoever. It literally feels like your floating; it’s absolutely crazy! Everything is so beautiful (especially skydiving in Hawaii!), and I was trying to take it all in while simultaneously posing for pictures for our cameraman flying across from us. Before I knew it our parachute was pulled and I was jerked back while we floated back down to land. At this point I internally cheered, thanking God the parachute pulled. I then took all the beauty of the Hawaiian north shore in, while trying to painfully pop my ears. Yeah, major altitude change!
Floating down was probably my favorite part. It was so peaceful, and my instructor even did a few cool turns that finally gave my stomach the flips. Our landing was flawless, and I thanked him for an amazing and safe jump. It was seriously one of the best experiences of my life, and I’m so glad I did it! It was also one of the most expensive, but definitely once in a lifetime. I would definitely do it again! (I’m looking at you, Dubai!)
For more information on Pacific Skydiving, click here.
Prices start at $139 for 8,000 to 10,000 feet (15-20 sec. freefall)
We recommend our jump which was $169 for 14,000-15,000 feet (60 sec. of freefall!)
(It goes by so quick, you’re going to want those extra seconds!)
Photos and/or Video are extra and range from $88-$220, depending on your package.
Pacific Skydiving Honolulu
68-760 Farrington Hwy. (Dillingham Airfield)
Waialua, HI 96791
(808) 637-7472
