As soon as we got to the drop zone, Matt went over to the FBO to use the bathroom. It seemed as though nothing was staying in his system for very long. I was really worried about him and offered to bail out on the rest of the trip and head home. However, he assured me that he was well enough to continue.
While he was gone, I organized our stuff so we'd have a spot to rest and started writing. It's amazing how much happened in such a short time.
We'd driven 1,788 miles! I was relieved that we were past the 1/2 point of driving. So far, our trip had taken as through 10 states: Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Oh...Make that 11 - I forgot Indiana!
We slept in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, jumped in Minnesota and North Dakota, had a nice visit with Tina, and here we were at drop zone number three!
While we were waiting, the wind gusts were so strong! Matt kept saying, "I don't know if it's going to happen." I assured him that the winds would die down because this was our one shot for South Dakota.
With the exception of the strong wind, it was an absolutely perfect day for skydiving. The sky was clear and the temperature was just right.
We'd land here at Skydive Adventures first. Then, we'd do a second jump so we could land at the South Dakota rest stop. Matt took a few pictures around the DZ.
Erick was the first to show up to the drop zone. Once we were inside the hangar, he started looking for the waivers. He was having a hard time finding them. Apparently, he doesn't normally run manifest, but he was taking care of it for Matt Link. Erick is a C-License holder and a coach.
When we mentioned landing at the rest stop, he said he wanted to come along with us, but fate had other plans for Erick. While we were waiting for the pilot to arrive, an AFF student showed up to jump with him. Eventually, he found waivers and we filled them out.
It was getting later and we weren't sure we'd have time to do two jumps. When the pilot (Andrew) arrived, I told him we wanted to land at the South Dakota rest stop. Both Matt and I were surprised when he told us that he didn't know anything about it and had never done it. What????
During my exchanges with Matt Link, I was given the impression that it was something they had done a number of times before. I asked Andrew to call Matt L. to confirm. A few minutes later, he came back. He told us that he had filed the notam and he was ready to go when we were. Awesome!!!
Just one thing though...he wasn't sure where we wanted to go. Also, he didn't have information regarding the winds aloft. Fortunately, we'd gone over to the rest stop earlier. There were strong winds were coming out of the south. My Matt would help him find the right spot for our exit.
The last detail...how would we get back to the DZ? We lucked out because they AFF student (Susie) didn't pack for herself. She could use our van to come over and get us while Erick was packing their rigs. YAY!
