Weekly Update for 7/26/09
Time flies when you are having fun and this last weekend at Fly Free
Skydiving was no exception! As I sit at my desk and start this update
it’s everything in me not to curl up in a ball and take a nap instead,
but alas the update deserves priority and sleep is totally over rated….
The weekend started Friday evening with Mark, Mike and Sparky decorating
the sky with some hop and pops. We were also very pleased to provide
the ride to altitude to our visiting jumper, Col. John Bates, who did a
series of demonstration jumps into the Jefferson County Fair out in
Hillsboro this weekend. Friday kicked off the fair and John started his
weekend of awing the crowd and serving as an ambassador of our sport
with his talent. We’d welcome Col Bates at our DZ anytime – of course
his home is in HI – so perhaps we should visit his DZ sometime as well!
Saturday was about as annoying of a day as you can get in skydiving.
The ground winds were fairly light and variable but the winds aloft
were CRANKIN!! Winds at 3000 feet were reaching the 60MPH mark and we
just couldn’t have our jumpers landing all over the city of Festus. We
spent the majority of the day on a weather-hold and cursed Mother Nature
from the ground.
Annette, Robert’s Mother, arrived at the DZ Saturday with a very special
delivery in tow. There is no way to put into words how awesome the
t-shirts she had made turned out. Many eyes were tear filled and I have
the feeling you’ll be seeing these shirts a lot when you make your way
out to the DZ….
With the plane tied down and Rob and Debbie Kula out with the kitchen on
wheels the entertainment on the ground was a crowed pleaser!! As the
night started to creep up on our heels most of us were in disbelief that
the entire day had been spent on land and found our own ways to get a
quick fix. We decided that Mark’s flying lessons had been going really
well and gave him the chance to fly his first load of jumpers!!! It’s
my guess that we probably got about 25 ‘loads’ up and turned some
massive points!! Who says you can’t have fun on a wind hold?!
Sunday was back on track and we were all ready to make some REAL
skydives! Our tandems started to filter in about 8am and the sky was
practically begging for us to come play. Carole and Mario-Andre, our
two favorite French-Canadians, took on the skies for the first time and
I am positive they will both be back! A couple of the friendliest
people you could ever meet they just made the day get off to a perfect
start! That set the tone for the day – Mark doing tandems – what a
machine!!!!
Everyone wanted to be a part of the special day and we had a great group
of fun jumpers out with us to celebrate the lives of our friends we lost
just 3 years ago. We figured the best way to celebrate their amazing
lives was to jump until we couldn’t jump anymore – and that we did!!
Mark was the man on Sunday! Not only did he belt out some very special
tandems but among them he made his monumental 1000th skydive! Taking
Andrew, his youngest son, for an unforgettable skydive, it was an honor
to be along to share the moment. Even Mark, who is so humble and so
nonchalant, was stoked about his 1000th skydive! A wonderful Father and
Son moment and a milestone in the career of a distinguished, first-rate,
admirable skydiver, it was only fitting that the hanger award Mark the
appropriate “HIM”!
Mike Toombs snuck off the packing mat this weekend and made his debut in
the video slot! Mike did an excellent job and I have the feeling he’ll
be trading in packing for video in the not so distant future. Not only
did Mike rock the camera but he also rocked the Stiletto 150 this
weekend! With some pretty decent winds through a lot of the weekend we
couldn’t have Mike floating off to another county under that big 190
he’s been flying! Congrats on a very successful weekend Mike – you
rock! Mike and Mark also took the time this weekend to mark off some
sweet landing targets in both the student and the experienced jumper
landing areas! Thank you to Mike Dutton for mowing them out for us!!
As the tandems, the ribbon release and the day of non stop jumping
started to come to end we found it only fitting to make our last jump of
the weekend a swoop-n-chug. Once again, for the 2nd week in a row, Mark
came out in FIRST place with a record setting 25 second time. Not far
behind was Mike with 28 seconds… And I pulled in the rear with a
shameful time and a really good buzz!
With the plane parked and the jumpers drinking the moment I’d spent all
weekend waiting for had finally come! We changed Mark into his “1000th
Skydive” t-shirt and drug him out to the grass for the appropriate
congratulations for the occasion! 4 parts pancake syrup, 2 parts
chocolate syrup, 2 parts flour and 1 part sprinkles we made Mark into
one very sticky, sugary treat!!! WOO HOOOOOOO!!!!
With the weekends going into weather holds so often we’ve been very
happy to extend our stay in Festus through Monday night! Colleen and
Banks are becoming regulars on Monday afternoon and we just love having
them out!! We were also sharing the sky with a couple excited tandems
and Blake, our newest family member who is checking things off his A
license card and on his way to full blown skydiver!
Just another great weekend to go down in the books at Fly Free
Skydiving. Although we continue to battle Mother Nature on pretty much
a weekly basis we are constantly surrounded by our friends and love the
family we have at our new home. Thank you to everyone for making our DZ
a success and for all that you do for us. Our jumpers simply ROCK!!!
Until next weekend…
XOXO
Ashley
