Best laid plans versus reality

My plan was to make two days of skydiving here in southern California with the Skills Camp, another day for the SOS Women's Record attempt (Monday), and one day just to have fun in the air with my friends. But what happened instead? Those low clouds happened, making it impossible for me to make any skydives for three days. I have just returned to my hotel room after the third day of being grounded because of clouds like these. Skydivers cannot jump through clouds, because the FAA requires us to be able to see the ground. After one full day of fun (on Saturday), I have spent many hours at the Drop Zone waiting to jump but being unable to, because the clouds never cleared off. Most of the other jumpers had little problem with this, because they are just now beginning a five-day intense period of trying to set the record of the most SOS skydivers in a formation. Last year it was 60; this year they are trying for 72. I, however, will travel home tomorrow.

Sandra pointing to herself 30 years ago on a women-only skydive

Every time we try to set a new record, an old one will fall. Sandra, one of the women on my record last Saturday, is pointing to herself in a 15-way formation of women skydivers set around 1980. She was on our record of having six women over sixty make a complete formation, plus transitioning to another formation (called a point). This broke eight records, believe it or not. It's because we're OLD, you realize.

This is me receiving my JOS certificate (which I need to fill out and submit). Since I turned seventy last December, it makes me eligible to be in an elite category known as Jumpers Over Seventy (JOS). We will attempt to make a record of the most JOS together, but right now the number is 15, so I will need to travel to some places where JOS skydivers congregate. This tells me I will need to return to this same spot in a year, and make some new records with my colleagues.

At breakfast in the hotel, I saw that Sandra is getting a lesson from Fred, and I was struck by the fact that more and more often I see Macs being the laptop of choice. This post is being written on a MacBook Air, my favorite piece of equipment ever. I love my iPhone, but the Air is in a category of its own. We were optimistic that we would jump today, but... I hung out at the Drop Zone from 10:00am until 3:00pm, when it became evident that it would not happen again today.

I hung out most of the morning with Scotty and Louise Gallan and their two Scottie pups (not even a year old brothers). We went for a four-mile walk while waiting for the weather to clear so we could jump together, but it was just not to be. I did get a really nice walk in, however, and in the morning I will be heading back to the airport to return my rental car and start the long journey back home to Bellingham. I only got to make four skydives in four days, but I am REALLY glad we got that first day!

All told, I would do it all again, even if just for those four jumps. Hanging out with my peers has been exceptionally rewarding, and I'm already thinking about next year...
:-)