Skydiving in Hawaii

Well it’s been a very long time since we have posted any new pictures. Just to give you an update, Krista and I are in Britt, Minnesota and have been since January 13th. We left Honolulu on Jan 12th in the morning and arrived in Minneapolis Jan 13th before 6am. After a long 8 hour flight it was time to brave the cold Minnesota winter.

It was extremely brutal considering we have been in a pretty warm climate since about April 2008 in Korea then Hawaii October – January. We know none of you feel sorry for us because you were stuck in the cold.. but we’re OK. We did manage to get a nice tan before we got back! ;)

There are a lot of posts to put up yet, many still from Korea and plenty more from Hawaii and Minnesota. Hopefully we will get to those soon. But for now, you can enjoy one of our last adventures in Hawaii – Skydiving!

Skydiving is something I have always wanted to try. I’ve always been a little nervous about it but a friend of mine told me of a place he went to in Hawaii a few months before and said it was amazing. I wasn’t able to find anyone jump with me, but I took a chance and just booked it.

So the next morning Krista and I drove to Dillingham Airfield on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. The sun was shining, there was no wind, the scenery around the whole island was breathtaking (more pics in a future post).

Krista did not jump, however she did get to co-pilot the plane! After viewing a short intro video and signing my life away (literally) on 10 pages that had a note “Skydiving is dangerous, you could die” we made our way outside waiting to suit up.

After about a 30 minute wait I had my tandem harness on and Krista had her own little jump chute. She was told in the event of an emergency to watch the pilot, if he leaves the plane she should follow quickly and then pull the handle on her chute:)

Not long after we were in the air making multiple passes along the coast until we climbed to about 14,000ft. Two individual jumpers dove before we made it all the way up. The instructions I got were to lean my head back, hips forward and hands on my harness. When I was tapped twice I could put my hands out, two taps again hands back on the harness. Once we reached our altitude a Japanese tourist and his tandem instructor jumped out first, next up… me!

Take a look and the pics and the video below.

The instructions I got were to lean my head back, hips forward and hands on my harness. When I was tapped twice I could put my hands out, two taps again hands back on the harness.

Myself and instructor.

Time to fly..!

Bombs awaaaaaaaaaay……

It was one of the best experiences of my life! I was told it was time to go, we made our way to the door. A few years ago I probably would have hesitated to get up and make my way out, but there was no hesitation at all. I remember looking down and thinking wow.. next thing I know it was time to go.

Free falling at over 110mph, the feeling was amazing. I could see the coastline, the calmness over the ocean, the mountains and everything else looking so green. It felt so amazing to fall from the sky and watch everything else around you. Being so high up and without anything rushing passed me besides the wind, it did not feel like falling. I felt like I was flying or floating. It was peaceful, exciting, thrilling, breathtaking and exhilarating all at once.

I would definitely go again. Now that I know what it feels like, I would convince Krista to go with me next time. She’s a little jealous now that she didn’t!

Check out the video, let me know what you think!

Click here to see the video if you're reading this via email.

Green Sea Turtles at Laniakea

One weekend we went to Laniakea Beach (aka Turtle Beach) to see green sea turtles. This beach is well known for surfing, but was made popular in the late 90's when the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle started "sunbathing" on it's beach. Since their debut the sea turtles have made an almost daily appearance at the beach drawing bus loads of tourists from all over the world.

The turtles come up to the shore to eat growing seaweed off the rocks. The green sea turtle is a reptile that can live up to 80 years of age. Like other reptiles, the green sea turtle is cold-blooded. So they will sometimes haul themselves up on the beach to bask in the warm Hawaiian sun.

They will generally allow people to get a little close to swim or snorkel in the water. Most are friendly but, there are a few things to keep in mind when swimming with turtles: keep about 10 ft away at all times, do not get between the turtle and the surface - they do need to get to the surface for air, and never touch or try to ride these creatures. This species was listed on the endangered list July 28, 1978 and is enforced by Hawaiian state law.

Below are a few pictures we took that morning.















Directions to Laniakea:

Take H2 til the freeway ends. Continue to follow route past Dole Pineapple Plantation until you come to a stop light. Left will take you to Historic Haliewa, Stay Right and bypass town. You will be heading towards Turtle Bay Resort. Continue on for approx 4 miles. You will see a white fence on the right (horse ranch). Immediately after white fence, you will cross a small bridge and you should park on the right hand side of the road after crossing the bridge. You will see an obvious dirt parking area. The Sea Turtles will be enjoying their day across the street.

There is also a volunteer program in place to help protect the turtles. Various volunteers watch over the turtles during different shifts ensuring they remain unharmed. For more information, click here.