在知道這次出差美國剛好回程飛機是在晚上,
等於多了一天空閒時間可以趴趴走時,
很快的告知堂妹,
因為我們說好要一起去SKYDIVING!!!! 
When knowing my flight would be at night time for this business trip,
I called my cousin instantly because we had planned to go SKYDIVING together!!!
加州有很多跳飛機的地方,
但我忘記了如何找到並決定去SKYDIVE ELSINORE的.
可能是因為看了youtube上面的影片,
加上Lake Elsinore離LA只要開車一個多小時,
所以也不記得有考慮其他地方了.
There're many places where you could skydive,
but I forgot how we found and decided to go to SKYDIVE ELSINORE.
Perhaps it's because of the videos on youtube,
plus it's gonna take only 1.5 hrs drive from LA to Lake Elsinore,
so we didn't really consider other places afterall.
16號在Anaheim的展覽結束後,
我和堂妹在LAX機場見面.
搭了接駁車到飯店放好行李後,
就到飯店對面的租車公司去拿車.
After I had finished the NAMM show at Anaheim,
I met up with my cousin at LAX.
Then we left my bags to her hotel,
and went to the car rental to pick up our car.
租一天加保險及GPS共花了約USD$67,
不過原本以為會是Chevrolet的,
(跟變形金鋼裡的bumblebee同廠牌 XD)
沒想到結果是韓國車Hyundai
(很後悔沒有換車....)
The car costed us about USD$67 for a day with insurance and GPS.
I thought we would get a Chevrolet,
(same brand with the bumblebee in Transformers movie XD)
but we actually got a Hyundai.
(still regret that we didn't ask for another car)
(租到這台避震器很差的車)
(our car with lousy suspension)
拿了車就先在附近繞繞,
熟悉一下車況跟GPS的使用.
租車公司提供的GPS是Garmin的,
係MIT的哦 ^_^
不過忘了替勞苦功高的小Garmin拍個照.
We drove around the blocks to get familiar with the car and GPS.
The GPS is from Gami, made in Taiwan :)
隔天一早7點起床疏洗後,
7點半堂妹負責開車上路,
我負責看路標,
另外堂妹的一位同事也跟我們一起去.
(請替這位同事鼓鼓掌, 因為我和堂妹都是第一次在美國開車, 她竟然有勇氣搭我們的車
)
Next day we got up at 7am,
and my cousin was in charge of driving while I watched the signs for her.
One of her colleagues went with us,
can't believe she dares to ride with us since neither I nor my cousin had ever drive in the US before XD
一路上有驚無險的來到了Lake Elsinore,
先吃過早餐後,
來到了Skydive Elsinore.
Anyway,
we arrived Lake Elsinore safe and sound.
And after a short breakfast break,
we're finally here at Skydive Elsinore~~
(這是停車場.... 天兒啊, 我們興奮到忘了跟Logo拍照了X_X)
(The parking lot.... GOSH, we were too excited that totally forgot to take a photo of their logo...)
(旁邊的小房間是教室和著裝室, 前方有一個吧台, 再出去就是飛機場跟跳傘後的降落點)
(the rooms on the sides are team rooms and gear room. There's a bar in the front, and further out there are airport and landing area for the skydivers)
我們先到辦公室去報名,
櫃台先給了我們一張列滿了條文的同意書,
表示不管發生什麼事,
責任我要自己擔.
從那麼高跳下來,
不論多麼完美的前置作業,
很難講不會有意外發生,
所以自己要知道並同意承受任何的結果.
聽起來很恐怖,
但世事本難料嘛,
相信我們從LA開車來回到這裡的路上會出事的機率比跳飛機高多了,
所以毫不猶豫的就簽下去了.
We went sign up at the main office,
and a lady gave us an agreement to read and sign first.
It basically says no mather what happens,
you need to bear the consequences on your own.
Well,
you choose to jump out of a plane at 12,500ft above ground,
how can you expect someone to take the responsibility if something went wrong.
It dose sound horrible,
but it's life.
I believe our driving back and forth from LA to Skydive Elsinore was much more danger than the tandem jump,
so I just had it signed without second thought.
簽同意書時,
櫃台還用DV拍下你唸證詞,
並親筆簽名,
實實在在的證據,
想賴也賴不掉啊.
When signing the agreement,
the lady also used the DV to record your statement and signing.
Solid evidence.
接著我們進到一個小房間,
Then we got sent to a small room,
(不知道為什麼, 進來後有要等醫生看病的感覺.... XD)
(feels like a Doctor would come in any second...)
小電視裡有個人告訴你跳飛機有可能的危險,
接著播出一些好玩的跳傘片段.
(這組合也太極端了吧....)
然後我們繼續填一些資料,
這時候進來另外一個人,
所以我們一共4個人要跳飛機.
填完後出去繳錢.
and then followed by some fun skydiving clips.
(great combination XD)
We kept on filling out some paper works,
and another person walked in,
so there were 4 of us suicidal.
After we got all paper filled out,
we went out to pay for the jump.
接著到吧台對面的辦公室交一些文件,
我們就到處晃晃跟等他們叫我們準備.
The main office asked us to turn in some stuff to another office at the bar area,
so we did,
and then just hanging around.
突然間天空開始出現人影,
堂妹說好像一堆仙女從天而降 XD
Suddently some skydivers started to appear in the sky,
and my cousin said that they were like faries descending to earth XD
(我也想自己飛~~)
(I wanna fly on my own too!!!)
等了不短時間,,
終於有一個工作人員來叫我們準備,
但不是準備跳,
是要做跳之前的小小訓練.
Waited for quite a while,
finally a staff told us to get ready.
Not ready for the jump,
but ready for pre-jump training :)
我們集合到一個假的機門前,
一個小男生跟我們解釋整個步驟.
首先就是我們等下身上會穿一個harness,
(不知道中文叫什麼... 就是吊帶還綁帶之類的東西)
讓我們可以跟教練綁在一起.
然後到機門的時候跪下一腳,
教練會喊Ready, Set, GO.
接著就會跳出去,
很重要的就是在跳出去後,
身體一定要拱起來,
肚子往前,
手捉住harness,
直到教練拍肩的時候,
就可以放開手向攝影師揮手照相.
最後就是降落時把腳抬起來用屁屁著地,
不然斷腳不負責 XD
We were gathered to the front of a partial simulated airplane door sort of thing,
and a boy was in charge of explaining the whole process.
First we would be wearing a harness,
so we could be hooked together with the instructor.
Then kneel down one leg when at the door,
and the instructor would go Ready, Set, GO!
The most important thing was to arch our body when jump out,
hands on harness till the instructor taps on our shoulders.
Finally when landing,
lift our feet and land on our butt.
(if not, pray for safely keeping your legs XD)
簡短訓練完後還是沒輪到我們,
一對夫妻會先跳,
所以小男生先幫他們穿上harness,
而我們就繼續在外面晃.
It's still not our turn after the short training.
A couple would go first,
so the boy put them on harness first,
and we just kept hanging around.
幸好不久後,
小男生讓我們開始著裝,
因為天氣晴朗舒適,
所以我們不用穿jumpsuit.
(看等下的照片, 我的教練的穿的就是jumpsuit)
Luckily the boy geared us up not long after,
and we didn't have to wear the jumpsuits because it wasn't as cold as earlier.
著裝完成後,
攝影師開始一一出現認領他們的拍攝目標,
而我的攝影師是Dave,
(見鬼的我一直以為他叫Matthias, 直到領照片光碟時才發現不是.. 抱歉啦~)
然後他先做一個簡短的訪問,
很厲害的是他的安全帽上有攝影機又有相機,
頭不會很重嗎 XD
After we all geared up,
the cameramen started to show up and look for their shooting target XD
My cameraman was Dave,
(for some reasons, I thought his name was Matthias.... sorry ~)
and he gave me a brief interview before boarding the plane.
I'm wondering wouldn't he feel his head quite heavy since there're camera and DV affixed to his helmet..:)
訪問完後等了一下,
Dave找到了我的教練Lelo,
然後就被帶到機場旁的另一個假機門去再做一次步驟的復習.
A short while after the interview,
Dave found my instructor Lelo,
and then we headed over to the other partial simulated airplane door sort of thing next to the airport for review the jumping process.
(記得身體要拱起來, 重點!重點!重點! 最左邊白衣服的女生就是堂妹的同事)
(ARCH~ ARCH~ it's all about ARCH!! the girl on the left with gray shirt is my cousin's colleague)
接著就登機啦~
原本飛機裡還空空的,
只有我堂妹、她的教練跟攝影師,
但就在我忙著找安全帶時,
不知道從那裡擠進來一堆人,
頓時就變沙丁魚了.
So now up we board the plane~
It was sort of empty when I got in,
only my cousin, her instructor and cameraman.
But when I was busy looking for seat belt,
a bunch of people came out of nowhere just packed the whole plane....
(小小飛機塞滿了人. 攝影師們好像都有照片最右邊這位仁兄安全帽上橘色圓圓的東西,
應該是用來瞄準的吧... 不然在空中亂飛, 沒有瞄準的話, 是要拍阿飄哦 XD)
(small plane packed with people. Seems all cameramen have the same orange round thing connected to their helmet.. probably for aiming the target... or how are they gonna shoot when the target is moving around in the sky.. :)
到了某個高度,
教練的高度計嗶嗶叫,
我以為可以跳了,
結果只是解開安全帶,
然後攝影師們又做了一小段跳飛機前的心得訪問.
When we reach a certain altitude,
the instructor's altimeter started to bee~ bee~.
I thought we could jump now,
but it's just for unfasten the seat belt XD
The cameramen took turn now for another pre-jump interview with their target.
(Lelo是個好人, 所以沒在空中把我丟包 XD)
(Lelo is awesome because he didn't drop me from midair XD)
接著教練們開始準備把我扣在他的裝備上,
東扣西綁的,
感覺我不小心拉到什麼可能就會在半空完全脫離教練,
因此後來教練說把手握在身前的harness上時,
就超級規距的不敢亂動.
It's time for the instructors to hook the baggages on their gear.
There seem to be many hooking and tightening things,
and I was afraid that I might be completely unhooked from my instructor in midair if I accidently pulled something that I shouldn't.
So when Lelo to me to hold my hands on my harness,
I was so well-behaved XD
過了不久,
機艙門被打開,
靠近門口的一個一個開始往下跳,
(solo的skydivers會先跳, 後面才是有扛包袱的教練們)
Soon the exit door got opened,
and people near the door started to jump off.
(I think the solo skydivers always jump first, then the instructors with their baggage)
跟我們一起在小房間填資料的那個男生先下去了,
接著堂妹的同事,
而且她在艙門口狂尖叫,
但冷血教練還是一下就跳出去 XD
(不知道這位教練是誰, 但幹得好... 哈哈哈)
The man in the small room with us earlier went down first,
then it's my cousin's colleague.
She was screaming on the way to the door,
but the cold-blooded instructor still jump right off the plane XD
(I don't who the instructor was, but well done... hahahah)
我忙著看大家往下跳,
沒有發覺下一個就是我......
I was busy watching people jump out of the plane,
didn't notice that the next would be ME.....
And before I got a chance to strugle,
但還來不及掙札,
Lelo就跳出去了!!!!
Lelo had already JUMPED OUT!!!
不行啦,
至少讓我掙札一下吧~
NO~
can't I at least strugle a bit~
很快的教練平衡好,
也讓我可以放開手.
Soon the instructor got us all balanced,
and set my hands free.
我們就這樣以190公里的時速往下墜,
風很大很吵,
嘴很乾,
但我很敬業的一直跟攝影師揮手或比yeah XD
We started to fall in 190km/hrs,
wind was strong and loud,
my mouth was dry,
but I didn't forget to wave and yeah to the cameraman XD
下面的風景很美,
有湖,
有山,
有田野,
有房子,
The view under was phenomenal,
with a huge lake, mountains, fields, and houses.
The instructor also did some 360' turns, It's difficult to describe how it feels like at free fall......
教練還做了幾個360度的旋轉,
就像把地球自轉加速一樣,
超酷又好玩~
it's just like fasforward the earth rotation,
way cool and fun.
整個在空中自由落體的感覺很難形容,
雖然方向跟平衡是教練在控制的,
但在空中飄浮及隨意移動的自由感真是會上癮的!
Although the instructor got fully control of movement and balance,
but the feeling of floating in the air and moving anywhere you want was extremely easy to get addicted.
將近一分鐘後,
教練捉住我的手去拉降落傘,
傘開時感覺全身像被往上拉了過去.
After approximately 1 min freel fall,
the instructor guided my hand to pull the parachute.
I felt like been pulling upward when the chute was opening up.
等到傘全開後,
整個感覺跟剛才的自由落體完全的不一樣了.
(因為攝影師已經掉更遠去了,
所以開傘後直到要降落就沒有照片了)
因為下降速度變慢,
所以天空變得很安靜,
安靜到可以很清楚的聽到教練說話.
When the parachute got fully opened,
the sensation was completely different.
(there'll be no more photo from now till we land, cos Dave already fell way further down)
Because our descending speed got slowed down,
the sky becamse quiet.....
so quiet that I could clearly hear the instructor's instructions.
教練先讓我拉住降落傘的控制環,
(你確定這是個好主意嗎, 教練?!!!! XD)
然後他把裝備重新調整一下.
我腿上有2條較粗的帶子,
他把帶子往前推了一點後,
就變成像繩子的鞦韆一樣可以腿可以掛在上面.
The instructor first let me hold the parachute control loops,
(are you sure this is a good idea, Lelo?!?!! XD)
then he rejusted the equipments a bit.
There're 2 leg straps,
and the instructor pushed them a bit further,
they just turned into something like rope swings kind of thing that I could pratically sit on them.
接著他也拉住另一組控制環,
然後開始做左右轉彎.
每次轉彎的時候,
因為離心力我們就會有被甩盪出去的感覺.
不喜歡遊樂場那些旋轉器材的人可能會覺得不舒服,
但我個人倒是很喜歡這種在高空中被甩來甩去的感覺XD
教練一路就這樣把我們2個甩下來,
地面景物也愈來愈大,
所以超好玩的.
After all the adjustments were completed,
the instructor got hold on another set of control loops and started to make turns.
On each turn,
we got swing around due to the centrifugal force.
Some people might feel unconfortable if they don't like to spining things at the amusment parks,
but personally I do like to centrifugal force and swing XD
So the instructor just kept turning and turning all the way down,
and the things on the ground just got bigger and bigger,
it's soooooooooo AWESOME~
不知道過了多久時間,
Lelo要我把腳舉起來,
意思就是我們要降落了,
而我也看到Dave己經在地面等著拍我們降落.
Don't know how many mins gone by,
Lelo told me to lift my feet,
means we're about to land,
and I saw Dave already on the ground waiting for the landing shots :)
很快的我們進場、減速、滑行、屁股落地、結束!
(檢查雙腳、雙手、大頭... 很好, 都還在 XD)
就這樣一次不可思議的體驗完美的畫下句點.
Soon we were above the landing area,
and then landed on our butt.
( Check lets, arms, and head.... Good, they are all at where they should be XD)
Perfect ending for this incrediable and sensational flying experience.
由於台灣不能跳飛機,
看來我得省吃儉用一陣子,
才能再回去而且拿AFF課程.
希望能夠至少跳一次不跟教練綁一起的也就心滿意足了 XD
Since skydiving is not allowed in Taiwan,
looks like I'll need to pull in my belt for a while,
so I could go back for the AFF course.
Wish I could at least jump once without tandem,
that would worth all the efforts for sure.
至於想試試看的親朋友好們,
強力推薦SKYDIVE ELSINORE的啦~
For those who want to give it a try,
highly recommand SKYDIVE ELSINORE!!!
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