Thursday, July 8, 2010, 5:53PM
High Five Tour Stop #18: Fort Bragg, NC
Spending Time On An Army Base
This stop had us doing something pretty cool. I got to spend the night on an army base. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The first thing I noticed as we drove past the security check points was how large the place was. It was it’s own little town had a base bowling alley and fast food stores (even a Papa John’s that I saw delivering pizzas). We stayed in army lodging quarters which was pretty much a hotel. The only difference between other hotels was that this one didn’t have wifi but it did have security.
Up Up and Away!
We had a great plan for this stop and one I was extremely excited about. Colonel Folsom was going to be doing a jump from an airplane with the Golden Knights, the army’s premier skydiving team. He had jumped before in the marine corps but this was his first tandem free fall.
The members of the Golden Knight’s were awesome. They all loved what they were doing and felt they had the best job in the world. There were a few board members of Boeing who were also jumping and I got to sit in on the training. We watched a short video designed to pump us up and explain the pleasures and dangers of skydiving. After that the colonel and other divers suited up and got ready to board the aircraft
The colonel loved the jump and seemed to be in his own natural high for some time after. I wasn’t able to join him in the aircraft or make the jump with him but I got pictures as he was landing and the Golden Knight’s camera crew captured all of the action including a mid-air high five. I’d like to thank them for the pictures and the video which I’ve added here. Hopefully next year I’ll be able to jump along with them.
Our Next Stop: Asheville, NC
