Skydiving in San Marcos

After finishing up my junior year at UT, Caiqian and I decided to finally go skydiving. Caiqian did some research and found Skydive San Marcos. So Dad, Nick, Caiqian, and I decided to go there on Mother's day while my mom was working.

Skydive San Marcos Entrance

The first thing I noticed was that the weather was really nice. We ended up waiting for a couple of hours before we could go, but the waiting area outside was beautiful.

Waiting for our turn

Eventually they called us, and it was time to put on our jumpsuits.

Waiting to get suited up

I got to wear a stylish green-yellow combo and Caiqian wore a hot-pink piece.

Bodysuits

The plane we ended up jumping out of was the smallest plane I've ever been in, but the instructors told me that it was one of the larger commercial skydiving planes used for skydiving.

Our Ride

The plane held only twenty people total. Instead of airplane seats, there were only two long black benches that everyone straddled. Since Caiqian and I were last on the planes, we were the first to leave at 10,000 ft.

We can look out the open window from our front seats.

Our plane went two miles in the air before they opened the sliding glass window on the side of the plane.

Going Up

I was the first to go. My tandem partner was Victor, who has parachuted for 19 years. I slowly crouched and waddled up next to the door, ready to jump.

3, 2, 1...

And then I took the plunge!

Floppy Face Time!

The skydiving part was breathtaking. I've never had wind blow so hard across my face. And seeing the earth below was beautiful.

Oh look, it's the earth.

Eventually we pulled open the parachute, which admittedly hurt.

Crotch Pain

I was surprised that modern parachutes are no longer semi-spherical. The shape below is now the modern-day parachute design because it can steer left and right, as well as slow down.

Landing

At last, I returned to the surface. I took a picture of my tandem partner, Victor, and me.

Victor and me

Below is a video of my jump made by my videographer, Yoshi.

After I jumped, it was Caiqian's turn to go.

Caiqian's looking out of the window

Caiqian said her favorite/most exciting part of the skydiving was jumping out of the plane.

She's jumping!

I'm really proud of her for joining me. I'd never thought I'd find a girl who could be so adventure-seeking.

Bye-bye plane.

Caiqian's tandem partner, Aaron, was quite a character.

Skydiving Time

I'm a bit jealous because Caiqian managed to touch a little bit of cloud on her fall. You can see the cloud beneath her in the picture below.

Aim for the cloud.

Eventually she and Aaron landed.

Caiqian and Aaron

And with our adventure complete, we triumphantly walked back, now as skydivers.

Caiqian, Me, and our Entourage

On a side note, I think the skydiving made our hair look fabulous.

Alive and Victorious

Here is Caiqian's skydiving video . In it, you can see my jump, but from her perspective.

Post-Skydiving Stuff at Cropper Headquarters

The first big surprise was that my parents bought me an 8x4 sheet of 32 one-dollar bills that I've had on my bucket list for years!

8x4 Sheet of One Dollar Bills

The other surprise was that my mom bought me a pomelo, one of the original citrus fruits, as shown in the citrus fruit diagram below.

Here's a picture of a pomelo compared to an orange to give a sense of how much bigger pomelos are.

Look how much bigger the Pomelo is than an orange.

One downside to pomelos is that there is a lot of pith. Here's a picture of the pith and rind of a pomelo after I ate all the flesh. It tasted like a sweeter, more diluted grapefruit.

Remnants of an Eaten Pomelo

That's all I have for now. Expect another update after Dad and I drive up to Dow Chemical HQ in Midland, Michigan.