Earlier today, I celebrated my 35th birthday (woohoo) by doing another tandem skydive...this time at Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, California. Unlike last year's HALO jump—which was from an altitude of 29,190 feet, or my previous skydives in 2005 and '06 (both were from 13,000 feet)—the Elsinore jump was from 12,500 feet. However, for some odd reason (maybe it's because I'm getting old!) I felt like I was gonna pass out during the free fall, which was not a feeling I had in San Diego and Perris Valley almost a decade ago (and definitely not during the HALO jump, seeing as how I was breathing comfortably through an oxygen mask). I also felt like I was getting windburned...which might have to do with the fact that it was 100 degrees in Riverside County today. (I was protected by a blue coverall during my Perris skydive and was totally shielded in military gear during the HALO jump. It also helped that both dives took place in the relatively cool springs of 2006 and '13, respectively...and not during the hot days of early fall in SoCal.) I was obviously stoked once the main parachute deployed a minute after free fall, moreso this time around since the jump was more intense than my previous experiences.
Will I do another tandem, you ask? Good question. I probably shouldn't have told the awesome folks at Skydive Elsinore that this was my fourth time being strapped to an instructor and jumping out of a plane...seeing as how they were all trying to convince me to train (understandably so) to become a licensed skydiver next. I knew that this was gonna happen though, since the HALO jump was supposed to be my swan song from this extreme sport. However, I couldn't think of another cool thing to do to celebrate my 35th birthday (unless I went to Catalina Island again), so I opted for another skydive. I'd rather just enjoy the ride instead of having to worry about constantly staring at an altimeter to see when it was time to pull the ripcord on my parachute...nor do I want to worry about having to pull the ripcord myself! As far as everyone is concerned, I'm a 4-time tandem skydiver. Not as cool as being called a professional skydiver, but I'm still a skydiver nonetheless! Carry on.
LINK: Click here for more images from my Lake Elsinore tandem skydive
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