A few months ago, a good friend of mine and I decided to
take advantage of the lovely SoCal weather we had been having and go parasailing one weekend. We
found a Living Social deal for parasailing tickets, and the deal promised
breath-taking views of the Santa Monica Pier/Beach, a 15-minute parasailing
ride at a 500-foot suspension, and a lovely 90-minute boat
ride along the coastline. Marina del Rey, our aquatic activities central, is
about a 45 minute drive (with minimal traffic) from where we live, and so we
left around noon and got there just before the one o’clock departure of our
boat.
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| (The Marine Del Rey Parasailing Center, picture credit goes to fellow Yelper, Mark S.) |
Checking in was nice and easy, just signed our lives away on
a few waivers, and before we knew it, we were speeding off into ocean. The
weather started out strangely cloudy and gloomy, but as we got closer to Santa
Monica and Venice, the clouds began to disappear and the sun began to peep out
a little. There were 9 or so other people on our boat, and once we got out
deeper into the waters, the instructor began telling us the do’s and don’ts of
parasailing, and to not panic as we were unlikely to die even if we somehow managed to
detach ourselves from the boat as there was essentially a giant parachute
attached to us. A and I were second in line to go, and as the first group began
their descent, our excitement began to grow. While the other group was still
coming down, A and I were buckled into life-jackets and harnesses, and as soon
as they climbed out of the parasailing harness and into the boat, we were
clipped in. A thumbs-up and wave later, we were taking off and quickly flying
backwards.
Within a minute or two, we reached our max height of
500-feet, and from there on out, it was the most serene, beautiful, and
peaceful flying experience ever. We gently glided in the sky, occasionally bobbing
up and down a little bit, depending on the movement of the water. The views were
indeed, spectacular, and we just floated about, suspended 500-ft in the air,
enjoying the scenery and making casual conversation. I’m normally terrified of
heights and A was definitely nervous before take-off, but the moment our feet
left the ground, our fear dissipated as well, and we thoroughly enjoyed
casually floating around in the sky.
As we passed the Santa Monica pier, we came across an area of the coast where there were giant jagged rocks jutting out of the water, and A and I nervously joked around about how with our luck this would be the exact spot we’d fall out of our harnesses at (technically an impossible feat considering how you’re strapped in, but the rocks definitely freaked us out for a second).
Before we knew it, we began our descent and were quickly tugged back towards the boat. Soon enough, the tiny specks that were once people became actual faces again, and we were quickly ushered out of our harness and into the closest available seats so the next group could take their turn. We sat back and enjoyed the boat ride for the rest of the trip, watching the crashing waves, evil-looking seagulls, and occasional seal.
After our boating excursion came to an end, we decided to spend the rest of the day on Third Street Promenade and the Pier. We walked along the beach, amongst the crashing waves, and chomped down on Sour Patch Kids and Sour Patch Watermelon. We did a little shopping, and eventually decided to go to have dinner at Bangkok West Thai, one of my favorite restaurants in the area. We were starving, and so instead of exploring the menu and trying something new, I decided to go with a classic and a favorite of mine, Panang Curry with Chicken and a side of brown rice. The other two went with pineapple fried rice and a Tofu & Vegetable stir-fry. Everything was served steaming hot and delicious.
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