Hangin' with Vainikanen

Bodacious!

Over the summer,  we were honored to have an old time friend from Finland visit us here in Idaho. We met Hanna in Israel a few years back while volunteering at Yad Hashmona. But it wasn't until last fall that we realized there was a stronger bond between us then what we realized when we met up in Seattle with her and a couple of others who were also former volunteers in Israel. We found ourselves reminiscing of those hard working and but fun days spent at the moshav, strolling through the quarters of Jerusalem, and trekking our way though the Jordanian desert. By the way, check out Chuckandmissy.com for more stories of our Israel days. We packed in all that we could in the 2 short weeks we had with Hanna to give her the Idaho experience she would never forget.  SKYDIVING was first on the list!

Chuck, Hanna, Guion the Pilot, and Missy

Hanna coming in for landing
on her very first skydive! Good
for you!

Missy-my first static-line jump!

After a super-fantastic day of skydiving on the 4th of July, we headed back to Boise for a family BBQ before watching the Boise firework show.

After a day or so, we packed up for a week long camping trip to the majestic Sawtooths.

The most popular spot for picture taking and you know why.

Games

  

We had a great time!

Hiking

During Hanna's stay, we introduced her to Boise, some good american food, Channel 7, and Twin Falls. Why Twin Falls? Don't you know? It's practically our second home! And you'll see why in a bit.

Boise River

TV Station KTVB
where Chuck works. We were
able to sneak in while
a news cast was taking place
for Hanna to check out.

8th Street

Table Rock

Our home off of the Boise River

 

Floating the Boise River

Bestest breakfast in town,
The Pantry.

Hooters                                                           

  

"Bodacious"
   The first time I heard that word was
    from Hanna while we were in Israel
      Ever since, I think of her every time.

Chuck taking a plunge off the Twin Falls bridge

Twin Sisters

Airplane to Air Balloon, Mountain to Bridge... What's Next?

Over 2 years ago after Chuck and I did our first skydive, Chuck considered taking up skydiving as a hobby. 500 jumps later, it has now become a possible career change in the near future. Drop zones in the valley ask him to coach their students and are eager for him to become a licensed tandem instructor. Just wait because in less than a year from now he'll be able to take you on a ride of a lifetime.

A couple of months ago, Chuck had the opportunity to jump out of an air balloon. It was quite the experience for both him and I. You don't realize until you have a reason to follow an air balloon around that they never know exactly where they are going to end up landing.

After the first load jumped out, we chased down the balloon that ended up landing near the Boise River in a wheat field so that Chuck could catch the next flight up before they took off again. 

 

Up to 3000 feet in the air, Chuck jumped out and landed in a cow pasture. The cows didn't seem to mind but he hurried out before finding out whether or not the farmer felt the same. 

Another form of parachuting called Speedflying allows you to run off large hills or mountains for a speedy trip down or in the right wind conditions soar in the wind lasting 30 minutes in the air at times. Makes for some fantastic views!

A popular hill for Paraglider/Speed flyers in East Boise called the Crow.

Arrowrock above Lucky Peak

Horseshoe Bend  

Garden Valley

BASE JUMPING!

Something else Chuck just wanted to try a few times. Well, you guessed it. A few times turned into over a hundred times now off of the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls.  Typically, after some experience off of the bridge, base jumpers look for other things to jump off of. We'll keep ya posted.