Since we aren't traveling this Christmas break, we decided to do some fun local things that we just haven't gotten around to doing or wanted to wait for a special occasion. So the day after Christmas we hit the Indoor Skydiving place in Abu Dhabi. It is about two minutes from our house so an easy commute.
We arrived and got checked in with Dmitry who was our instructor. We suited up in our flight suits, watched an intro video and then learned our sign language signals to communicate with Dmitry in the wind tunnel since it is too loud to talk.
Meredith has been wanting to do this for a while (she is our adrenalin junkie and loves roller coasters). Jane and Regan weren't quite so sure about it but said they were game for it. Anna was sure that she did *not* want to do it (although they do let 3-year olds do it which seemed really young!). After a few instructions from Dmitry. we were ushered into the big wind tunnel and off we went.
I told the girls I would go first - to show them it wasn't scary (and try to be a good, brave example!). I was a little nervous as I "fell into" the air, but ended up having a really good time. I had asked Dmitry about how to spin, etc. and he said that I just needed to focus on staying steady the first time. And he was right - he could do all kinds of spins and things but I found it challenging to just stay horizontal and not bump into the walls.
Regan was next and she was a champ - just marched right up and did a fantastic job. She had a big smile on her face except when she went really high and I could tell she was a little nervous.
Mere was supposed to be after Regan. She did a great job marching in and did what she was supposed to at first but then she panicked a bit - she tried to "swim" in the air and jumped into Dmitry's arms and gave him the "I want to get out of here" hand signal.
Despite Meredith not being able to complete it and Jane being the most nervous one of the bunch, she gamely trooped on in and did a great job, too. She's so flexible, her back was able to arch like crazy which seemed to give her more control somehow. She also had a big smile on her face.
Jake was last and he did a great job, too. Regan and Jane made it look pretty effortless with their light weights so Jake in contrast seemed to lumber around the tunnel a bit (which I'm sure I looked the same!) but he managed to figure out how to keep his balance and was able to fly way up as well.
We all got to do it twice and even though it was too loud to give Mereditha pep talk, she was so brave and marched right back in to try it again. She *almost* had it but got a little panicked again. We were so proud of her for giving it another go. I'm sure in a year or so, she'll ask us to take her back so she can do it, too.
Big fun in Abu Dhabi!
Jane taking a break to smile at us through the window.
Team Puryear suited up and ready to go
This is me!
This is me, too. It looks like I am holding my breath but the wind
was blowing so hard it just made my cheeks jiggle like jello.
Regan getting her first start.
Regan getting the hang of it.
Mere made a good effort and *almost* had it!
Here goes Jane.
Easy, peasy, lemon squeazy for Jane.
Regan and Jane got so good that the instructor went flying
with them instead of staying on the net to help them.
Jane's 2nd flight - right before the instructor when flying
with her, too.
Jake gets a turn and smiles for his girls.
Certificates of the spacewalk.
Now for some videos (we have the full 12-15 minutes or so for anyone who wants to watch the whole thing (I think these snippets will give you enough good flavor of our fun day!):
This is Regan's 2nd flight - she did such a great job!
Here is Jane on her 2nd flight.
And lastly, poor sweet little Meredith who gave such a good effort. Despite the loud noise and ferocious wind (and unable to talk to her sisters or me about her first experience), she was so brave and gave it a second try. I have no doubt that if we were to go back in a few months, that she could conquer her fear and tackle this wind tunnel.
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