I Will Live My Life: The Jump
In an effort to make the most out of what time I have, I decided to jump into the impossible (almost quite literally).
Opening Note: Hang gliding is not what I expected it to be. No jumping off of cliffs (though I believe a few advanced people did), and no intense training before-hand (though there was an informational video video). Plus it was surprisingly not scary at all!
Starting off the day not so bright and early, more like noon actually, my gliding partner for the day and I headed out on a four hour drive to Lookout Mountain. With relatively low traffic we made good time, but long drives always have a habit of making me sleepy. So needless to say there was at least one coffee break on the way.
Over the mountains came dark clouds and worry about two hours into the car ride there. (From what I knew gliders and storms don't mix very well.) Unfortunately after the sky cleared-up for the most part, once we got to the check-in station the flying was on hold. With several hours of waiting, finally were we able to get suited up, and man did we look cool...
With an interesting accent, a lovely staff member assisted me in putting on all my safety gear. I was even offered the special "cool" purple helmet for people with small heads. It fit perfectly. Relatively light and comfortable, I fit snuggle into the black outfit that would attach me to the glider. From there it was less than an hour wait till I was able to go meet my instructor and fly!
Getting all close with the instructor, I was laying horizontal to the ground with my hands holding on to the straps at either side of the instructor's waist. We were waiting for take-off. After attaching the rope from the small airplane to the glider, "all clear!" was sounded off three times. Up, up, up we went as the small airplane carried use through the air and up in altitude.
At 2000 ft we disconnected the rope and we were gliding on our own. Roughly 8000 feet higher than the mountains our little glider soared. With Georgia in front and Tennessee to our right, the cascading mountains seem to go on forever.
Letting go of the instructor and instead holding on to the bars (which was hard for my tiny stature) I took control of the hang-glider (scary right?). Dipping, turning, and moving all around I was practically weightless in the air. Eventually I let the instructor take back over and as a result a more thrilling descent ensued.
With both feet back on the ground I watched as my flying partner in crime also landed. After tipping our instructors we were on our way home. Behind our backs lay the setting sun. Forward lay the opportunities of tomorrow...
Thank you for reading my mini story! I hope you enjoyed! Don't be afraid to go on your own journeys!
