Miss Adventure Takes Flight

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s…wait, you’re right. It is a plane. But it’s me flying a plane! My boyfriend, Nick, and I had the opportunity to go up in a little 1999 Cessna 172R with our instructor, Josh, for a lesson in flying a bird. We arrive at Justice Aviation located in the Santa Monica Airport with butterflies in our stomachs. It isn’t so much nervousness as excitement –mixed with an overdose of coffee consumption. Justice Aviation trains aspiring pilots to become certified, but they also offer special packages if you’re looking for a unique one-time introductory experience. Some students from the school walk in with books and ask questions. The instructors all seem really knowledgeable and friendly. I glimpse a flight simulation machine in one of the side rooms. Unbelievable. We will bypass that completely and head straight to the clouds. No books? No lessons? No life insurance waiver? (Actually, maybe there was one of those, but adrenaline can act like a fog machine in the brain.)

I'm up first in the cockpit. The plan is that I fly over the coastline past Malibu and back. We land and switch places at the wheel before Nick flies us over Beverly Hills and Hollywood.

Headset. Check. Seatbelt. Check. Tray tables up. Umm.

The only other time I’ve been in a small airplane was when I jumped out of one a few years ago on my birthday. But that’s different. That is a complete lack of control. You’re just a passenger in a plane until someone opens the door and attached to someone else, you fall out. This time, the fate & well being of three precious, young lives in this hunk of metal is all on me. Dramatic enough?

On the runway, we wait for the clearance signal from the air traffic controller. Obviously, being my first time I don’t (wo)man the controls at take-off. I get to sit back as the world below slowly becomes a live tilt-shift video.

And we’re flying! High in the sky where humans were never intended to be. The steering is surprisingly sensitive. A heavy-handed lean to the right and you’re practically at a 45 degree-angle- at least it feels that way. Once we hit the desired altitude we pretty much coast; cruising at 120 mph and taking it all in. It is an absolutely perfect day to go up as Josh said in his four years of flying he’s never seen L.A. so clear. Focusing on one point is hard because every road, building, and car fight for your attention like amateur night at The Pink Possum. We can see all the way to Catalina Island, the Canary Islands, Pasadena, to Hermosa Beach. Los Angeles can be fickle (or maybe it's me). I have a love/hate relationship with her, but on this day- lady’s never looked more beautiful.

Flying is a high man’s sailing- all that open space. The 180-degree turn around is the best part. The plane is on its side and out the front window is a full ocean view. For a few seconds, I seriously expect to use my seat as a floatation device. "This feels like a roller coaster ride, but for real life- and I’m steering it!" Queue the blonde joke.

Miss Adventure's Flying Tips:

1. Pop some Dramamine if you’re sensitive to motion. I took one and still got queasy towards the end. So, take two and call me in the morning.

2. Cher’s Malibu house is the size of Texas even from 2,000 feet high.

3. This may be a no-brainer, but be sure to bring a camera. You’ll want to document this unless you’re a bird and this is your everyday. And if you are, please teach me how to fly and poop on people.

Flying a plane is one of those once in a lifetime experiences that you never forget. As I am getting all-sentimental and girly when our adventure comes to an end Nick brings up a good point. If you have a great time up there it doesn't have to be a historic once in a lifetime occurrence. You can always do it again.

Point taken. 

There were too many show worthy photos to post so I made a lil' video. 

On The Streets of Venice, CA

River Rafting Like Never Before (Because It Was My First Time)

Last weekend some friends and I went where many a men & women have gone before, but it’s still fun to talk about. Bakersfield? Well, more importantly what we did while there. We traversed the rage-iest of frigid waters seeking that ultimate rush of adrenaline. We went…whitewater rafting. (dun, dun, dun)

This was my first time on any sort of rapids outside of a theme park’s manmade one and it was awesome! If you want the anticipation and excitement to begin hours before you hit water, I highly suggest accidentally not realizing how far Bakersfield actually is from Los Angeles. Weave in between traffic at 95 mph for 2 hours straight to arrive 30 seconds before your assigned bus pulls out of the River’s End Rafting Company parking lot without you in it. Adventure at it’s finest!

The Kern River is a 5-minute bus ride from the RER headquarters off little old Hwy 178. Once waterside, there is a briefing of how to’s and what if’s for rafters before breaking into groups of 7. Our river guide’s name was Joe - a knowledgeable, fun dude with a dry sense of humor.

Despite a few rapids and a dozen or so dips, the Kern River is pretty calm - which is actually great for beginners like my friends and I. (Though this varies on given water levels and the time of year.) We all squealed like little girls who just lost a PollyPocket when approaching the first rapid. If one of my teammates didn’t have lightning reflexes to save me I would have dipped like a roast beef sandwich in au jus.

It’s funny. You do absolutely anything in your power not to fly out of the raft during the trip. You may lean inward a little like the water has leprosy or wedge your feet in between the raft’s crevices - hanging on for dear life as I did. But as soon as Joe announces we can hop out and swim suddenly we are Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn splashing around in a river before it’s back to painting fences.

RER also offers a half-day river exploration for anyone interested in more time on the water. I would definitely recommend this option, as the day seemed to fly by. The trip lasted about 2 hours in total with a few surprises along the way that I don’t want to spoil for anyone. But I can say at the end of it all my cheeks were sore from smiling- not sunburn. 

Raging

Miss Adventure's Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before the Trip:

1. You actually sit on the sides of the raft. Having this knowledge wouldn’t change anything preparation-wise, unless you're extremely Type A and practice by sitting on the side of your bathtub. I just thought it was interesting.

2. The oars are harder to push through the water than it looks. Again this won’t change anything- unless you do 50 push-ups every night until your trip. Rafting season just closed last week and re-opens in May. Start now and you’ll tear through the water like a giant beast!

3. The rafts are giant beasts!

4. Wear water shoes or no shoes. The only water-resistant shoes my land-dwelling, totally unprepared friends are I own are flip-flops. While they did stay on our feet it would have been easier without them. Ask your guide to keep your shoes on the bus if you don’t have water shoes.

5. Oh, and Bakersfield is way further than you think! For good measure allow yourself at least a 2.5 hour commute from L.A.

After rafting up an appetite we found the perfect spot nearby for burgers and shakes of all kinds at the 1950’s style diner, Moo’s Creamery. Bacon bits in a shake?! Need I say more?