Do something every day that scares you!

 Have you ever heard that quote in the title? Yep --- I've seen it many times. While I don't do something scary every day, I do attempt to learn things, and sometimes that can be scary. I also take on tasks that might scare me, but I embrace those things. 

So when we arrived in Hawaii and decided to book some excursions, we booked easy ones. The bus trip up a crater to see the sunrise wasn't scary. The whale watching trip on the catamaran, that wasn't scary, although I'm not a fan of water stuff as I'm not a swimmer. So, it was "somewhat" scary for me. 

However, when we seriously considered a helicopter tour, that was scary. And then we threw all caution to the wind and decided to go on a DOORS OPEN helicopter tour!! My gosh—what were we thinking? OK—I suggested it!!

We made our way to the airport, or should I say the heliport, which was close to the airport. We had arrived a bit early, which was OK with me. And then we saw the safety video, which wasn't much—how to buckle that seat belt, and so on. 

Then, it was time to get on the helicopter. 

Our ride

Yes—it was little, and yes --- all the doors were off the helicopter!!! There were five of us tourists on the helicopter and the pilot. We paid a bit extra so we could sit in front. Hey, if you're going to do it, do it right! And I got to sit on the outside! OH MY GOSH—what have I got myself into! I'm not happy when there's turbulence on the plane! As you can imagine, weight is an issue; the combined weight of the two front passengers must be less than 400 pounds to sit in the front. We passed with flying colors. 

We were off once we got our seat belts fastened and donned our goggles and headsets. 

And yes, there was the OPEN side of the helicopter on my left. ACK!!!!! It was a little unsettling at first, and it took a LOT of "skill" to let the feeling of not being in control go. 

OH --- there's nothing to hold onto!!!

And then we were up and flying over the water as we followed the coastline of Maui's western side. 

It was the most exciting thing I've done in a long time and worth every penny! The views were spectacular, and it wasn't that scary after all. 

Spectacular open-air views

There was literally nothing to hang onto, so I went with it and enjoyed it 1000%. We did have a "few" moments when I felt out of control. There was a lot of wind, and there were times when you could feel it buffeting the helicopter, but the pilot (Drew) was amazing and very skillful, or at least he appeared to be. 

Then, we scooted over the channel to the sparsely populated island (7,345) of Molokai. This island is stunning and has some of the tallest sea cliffs in the world (between 3,600 and 3,900 feet). Yes -- we flew from the backside of those cliffs over the water!! Yikes! That always freaked me out when I saw it in the movies, and here I was, experiencing it with no doors on my helicopter!! I even looked down!!!! 

The coast of Molokai

Thankfully, I sat on the outside because I took a ton of pictures and videos. Yes, it was spectacular, but those pictures do NOT do justice to what we saw or how it felt. There were a few other "moments" when Drew banked the helicopter to turn around to show the passengers the same thing that we were seeing. Yikes! And we hovered for a long time at one of the spectacular waterfalls. This is the Oloupena Falls (2,953 feet).

Oloupena Falls

Yes --- you could see those waterfalls from a boat, but you could NOT look down into the bottom like we were able to. Yep -- I got over that fear pretty quickly! Who knows - I might decide to ride a roller coaster!! 

This was my view from the front of the helicopter. It was just stunning!!!! 

Looking through the window of the helicopter

And there's me!!! Yep --- why not take a selfie while I take all these pictures? We were not allowed to take anything in our pockets, and our cameras were in lanyards that kept them securely attached to us. I want one of those lanyards—they were awesome. 

Me in the helicopter!

We wore an athletic jacket, but I was wearing shorts, and it wasn't cold. We could feel the wind, but probably less than we would feel on the beach. But the second I accidentally put my finger out of the "door," the force of the wind was incredible. Hence, it is frowned upon to put any part of your body outside the "door."  

It gives you a great appreciation for any helicopter scene in a movie!!! 

Before we knew it, we were flying back to the heliport over the water, which was spectacular. 

The ocean

The waves were long at one beach and broke far from the shore. 

Breaking waves

And then it was time to land. WOW --- it was an amazing experience, and I'd opt for a helicopter ride again anywhere!! It was amazing, and if the doors could be off, I'd go for that option!!! 

The other stuff we've done here has been amazing. Of course, the proposal was fantastic, and we're so glad we could be here for that. The helicopter ride was spectacular!! It's been a great trip, and we're not done yet!

I had another adventure today, which I'll tell you about tomorrow, and another adventure planned for tomorrow. 

On that note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!