Bucket List Birthday

At the beginning of this year, Ben sat down and made a bucket list, our wishes and dreams no matter how realistic they appeared, just for fun and because we were curious what some life long wishes were that we each had.  One of Ben’s bucket list items is learning to fly.  Me, on the other hand, have no desire to learn to fly, let alone fly in general, I prefer to keep my feet on the ground, where they belong  Thus, Ben has never reallly pursued this dream because as he puts it, it would not be fun to fly alone.  We also decided this year, rather than buy eachother gifts for our birthdays we would instead give a gift of adventure together.  So I couldn’t have been more excited when I saw a great deal on Groupon for 50% off a helicopter ride over the Dundee Hills for two people with Holmes Helicopters.  I quickly purchased the deal and scheduled the flight as a gift for Ben’s birthday.  Last weekend, was our adventure, and I took some pictures to document.

Ben, looking pretty excited for his first helicopter ride.  Made us take the door off both sides, eek (did I mention flights and heights are not my thing).  At least I felt somewhat safe squished in the middle.

Ben took brought the flip cam to document, here I am feeling pretty good about the flight and ready to embrass it.

I must admit, I loved the ride, although I did get a little motion sick, you don’t really feel like your flying.  Since there is no runway, you just ever so delicately lift into the air.

We toured the Dundee Hills, this winery is the shape of amphitheater.

Kind of a strange angle, but this is Domaine Serene Winery, one of our favs!

The coolest part of the trip was when we flew through the river, it felt like we were in a video game.  Made me slightly sick, hence the expression on my face.  Ben brought along the flip cam and got some cool footage, here is a raw clip.

Thank goodness, helicopters can land just about anywhere, we made a pit stop so I could get some air on stable ground.

All in all, it was super fun, and would recommend anyone to do it, even if you are afraid of heights.  Its so much better than flying in a plane!  And, since a helicopter can arrive just about anywhere, its a great way to make a grand entrance to your wedding!  Happy Birthday Ben!