Monday, November 26, 2007
That was a nice trip back home.
Geoff and I pulled into Dallas on Wednesday afternoon. I wanted to make sure that I could get plenty of rest for the 2007 Turkey Trot that was held at 9:00 on this year's Thanksgiving morning. Brother, Sister, Mom, Dad and Mr. B all woke up and headed to downtown Dallas. I jumped out of the car while they parked so I could get warmed up for the "big race". Actually, I wasn't racing at all. I just wanted to finish without stopping. The run went fine and I finished the 8 mile in a little over an hour (hour and 14 minutes I think). This was the 3rd Turkey Trot that I had attended. The one thing that was different this year was that Daddy-O and Mr. B. joined in on the fun. I must say, I am very proud the the two of them. It cant be easy supporting such a fat body with those stubby little legs...haha. Not you Dad...
After the trot, we all went home to eat the greatest meal of the year....gobble gobble.
Friday afternoon, brother and I drove out to Whitewright TX so that he could make his 3rd tandem and I could make my 94th - 95th jump. It was a little nerve racking because the dropzone was completely new and all the folks there seemed to be a bit older. Just to test it out, I decided to make a hop and pop for my first jump. I got all geared up, crawled in the plane and started our ascent. At about 100 ft off the ground I thought, "OH SHIT!". I forgot my altimeter. I had never jumped without an altimeter. I use it to aid in my landing so that I know when to make turns in my landing pattern. Well...it was a bit too late, so I peeked over at one of the other passengers hand and saw that the plane leveled out at about 4,000 ft. The Red light turned on and I opened the door. It was freezing. The green light turned on. I gave everyone a friendly wave and dove out. As I dropped, I looked up at the plane and noticed one of the jumpers threw out a peace sign so I returned the gesture. Since I didn't know my exact altitude, I pretty much pulled right outside the door. Geeez....that ride under canopy was freezing. I didn't have any gloves on and my shirt was super thin. Trying the eyeball the landing pattern wasn't incredibly difficult, but it did make me feel uncomfortable. Needless to say, everything went fine. After my safe landing, I ran inside to pack up for one more jump.
I had fun at Milo's on Thanksgiving night. Lotus on Friday night, and Frankies on Saturday night. It was so nice to see everyone!!!! Next stop to Dallas....December 16th. Yee haa!!
-sTephen
