Dinner out by the lake Zell am see. Great friends, great laughs, good food, great view…doesn’t get much better…..at least I didn’t think so until the next day!  B is taking the photo.

The views must speak for themselves.

Ron (our lead guide) served us snacks  on silver platters…we Americans are so entitled!

I think Austrian cows are happier than CA cows.  With these kind of views and greenery, how can they not be?

Lunch up on top with a view.

My new Austrian boyfriend..he invited me to have a couple schnapps and teach me a little German.

Cherie getting ready first to jump out into the wind.  She was totally excited and had Hans as her tandum pilot.  He even let her drive the parachute.

Cherie taking off…screaming woohoo the whole first minute.  It was amazing to see the wind just pick them up off the ground.

I am the second to last person to go. I have already cleaned out in the bathroom 4 times and my biggest worry was having a little diarrhea mid-flight.  My guides name was Tom.  I was a little disappointed because everyone else had cool German names like Deiter, Heinrich and Hans.  And my pilot forgot his camera so I only had my perspective from my little camera.  Everyone else had gone down the mountain on the last gondola of the day so no one got any photos of me taking off either.  My feet and knees in my photos are my only proof. Cherie tells me she took some of me landing so I will have to get those from her.

B getting ready to take the plunge, his pilot’s name was Daniel.  He got jipped in the cool German name pilots too.  But his pilot had his camera.

Holy crappola!   I am 4000 meters up in the air flying with a parachute and a total stranger named Tom. And it is AMAZING!  It was totally smooth taking off, no plunges or jerks and I wasn’t the least bit scared.  Thank heavens I don’t have a height phobia!  I hoped this would cure me of my flying phobia.  I think it’s the big hunk of metal hurdling through the air that defies logic and I have no control over that causes that phobia, so unfortunately no cure.  I felt like I had wings!  I have expected some pigeons to maybe dive bomb me, but I guess word of my hatred hasn’t traveled that far.

There’s B below me. We got “perfect lift, perfect wind” all I can say is WOW

Those are my legs in an unflattering position that you know I would not post if I didn’t have something to prove.

I put my foot in to give me further proof I was up there

This was just before B’s pilot went into a spin to descend and made B just a tad bit motion sick! I wish I had a photo like this of me though!

The top of my parachute and there’s B waaay out there.  My parachute was red, white and blue.  I felt very patriotic.

B coming in for a landing. I landed first, safe and sound and I would do it again in a heartbeat.