We needed a getaway, a road trip; something adventurous yet relaxing. Of the many options we finally settled for Illinois countryside that seemed to have quite a few adventure sports on offer. A group of seven, we started early on Friday, rounding of shopping for essentials before heading on towards Illinois. We had rented a spacious Mini-van to allow us the luxury of indoor games en-route our 8 hour drive to base camp i.e. Morris. My attempt to describe how much we enjoyed the drive would be futile as the excitement was literally captured in the confines of the mini-van. Put some heavy rockers together with loud music and there is bound to be some head banging. And what do I say about poker enthusiasts? Well we did also have a picnic on the way with a not so competitive soccer game and even friendlier Frisbee throw. It was a wee hours of the morning when we finally arrived at Morris.Good night sleep later we were ready for some adventure activities.
Our day started late and mood was somewhat dampened by bad weather which
prevented us from either skydiving or river-rafting. However we did find that we could go on a river cruise by renting a Pontoon. Thrilled on this opportunity we hurried to our destination. Renting formalities completed, we all jumped on the boat with food supplies. After taking quick instructions from the staff, I pulled the boat from the Dock and headed downstream
. The weather was great with temperature around the 75 F and a good cloud cover. We took turns behind the wheel of the pontoon and being our first time we were all excited to steer the boat. When not at the helm we sat in the front with feet hanging over the edge and enjoyed the ride or lazed over the deck enjoying snacks we brought onboard. Cool breeze made us relax and this was totally our idea of a perfect getaway. Moments of silence and harmony were interrupted by motor boats speeding across leaving ripples in the water that rocked our boat. It was amazing as simple things such as these and 
passing scenery generated so much excitement and delight. On our way back, still half an hour from the dock we were treated to some heavy downpour. Pinching drops of heavy rain made it difficult to stand but like kids eager to get wet in the rain; we enjoyed every bit of it. Until we got too wet and shivered with cold. Our landing couldn’t have come soon enough for us. Drenched but merry we enjoyed a sumptuous dinner at the Captain cove’s inn. Quick pit stop at our hotel was followed up with a visit to the downtown Morris which was all but a few blocks on a single street. Few drinks later it was time to call it a night.
prevented us from either skydiving or river-rafting. However we did find that we could go on a river cruise by renting a Pontoon. Thrilled on this opportunity we hurried to our destination. Renting formalities completed, we all jumped on the boat with food supplies. After taking quick instructions from the staff, I pulled the boat from the Dock and headed downstream
. The weather was great with temperature around the 75 F and a good cloud cover. We took turns behind the wheel of the pontoon and being our first time we were all excited to steer the boat. When not at the helm we sat in the front with feet hanging over the edge and enjoyed the ride or lazed over the deck enjoying snacks we brought onboard. Cool breeze made us relax and this was totally our idea of a perfect getaway. Moments of silence and harmony were interrupted by motor boats speeding across leaving ripples in the water that rocked our boat. It was amazing as simple things such as these and 
passing scenery generated so much excitement and delight. On our way back, still half an hour from the dock we were treated to some heavy downpour. Pinching drops of heavy rain made it difficult to stand but like kids eager to get wet in the rain; we enjoyed every bit of it. Until we got too wet and shivered with cold. Our landing couldn’t have come soon enough for us. Drenched but merry we enjoyed a sumptuous dinner at the Captain cove’s inn. Quick pit stop at our hotel was followed up with a visit to the downtown Morris which was all but a few blocks on a single street. Few drinks later it was time to call it a night.Bright and sunny Sunday morning could be more aptly put as the lull before the storm. It was our day to go skydiving g. The group was keen, enthusiastic, excited and more but at the same time anxiety was evident. Understandably so, not often do people jump of a plane albeit with a parachute. We arrived at skydive Chicago around noon and got right down to the paperwork i.e. pages and pages of disclosure agreeing not to sue or hold responsible should anything go wrong. Not the most comforting feeling. Anyways we got that done and were ready for our instructions. They were pretty simple actually – keep good shape, look at the horizon, check your altimeter and pull your parachute. We kept the instructor on his toes with some clever questioning “parachute always opens, doesn’t it” “has anyone died doing this?” He was obviously impressed by our display of courage. Nevertheless we did get down to business after an anxious wait for our plane. Our instructors’ help us put on the jumping suits and we were joined by our cameraman shooting the videos. We walked down to the glider that was going to carry, ahem how many 20 people, really? 20 people, but this is such a small plane. Yup w
e sat on the plan packed on each other’s laps. The engines spurted and hummed but got us in flight, barely and we wobbled our way to 13,000 ft when the doors opened. 3 pros smiled, waved and jumped off, their bodies disappearing in a jiffy. Okay whose idea was all this? It was too late to bail. So slowly, I mean real slowly and one by one we crawled to the door, counted to 3 and jumped. So here is how it feels in words.
e sat on the plan packed on each other’s laps. The engines spurted and hummed but got us in flight, barely and we wobbled our way to 13,000 ft when the doors opened. 3 pros smiled, waved and jumped off, their bodies disappearing in a jiffy. Okay whose idea was all this? It was too late to bail. So slowly, I mean real slowly and one by one we crawled to the door, counted to 3 and jumped. So here is how it feels in words.Jump….ahh…woooooow…what a view…falling fast…oh the wind….get your hands extended…wind is killing me, breath breath…the cameraman…lets pose…..oh the Hat check….look at the altimeter…find my parachute cord….look around…everything’s fast…everything’s stationery……..cameraman…pose again…what abt 360…here it is…..look around….oh..ughh.. Whats that jerk …damn its 4500 ft and instructor pulled the cord, should have ch
ecked altimeter. Within 60 seconds of the jump we had fallen 8000 odd ft. With the parachute open there was this amazing calm and an excellent view which we could now enjoy. Take a deep breath! ‘How about some maneuvers’. ‘Lets try a red turn’ a right one and then a left one. Few minutes later it’s time to prepare for the landing and what a sweet one that was. Incredible, amazing thrill. I am not sure if this describes the experience. I guess only way to get the nostalgic feeling is to do it yourself.Cameraman caught me on the ground for a brief interview for my video and then I joined my friends for victorious hugs and congratulations. Awesome experience. Try it!
ecked altimeter. Within 60 seconds of the jump we had fallen 8000 odd ft. With the parachute open there was this amazing calm and an excellent view which we could now enjoy. Take a deep breath! ‘How about some maneuvers’. ‘Lets try a red turn’ a right one and then a left one. Few minutes later it’s time to prepare for the landing and what a sweet one that was. Incredible, amazing thrill. I am not sure if this describes the experience. I guess only way to get the nostalgic feeling is to do it yourself.Cameraman caught me on the ground for a brief interview for my video and then I joined my friends for victorious hugs and congratulations. Awesome experience. Try it!We knew that nothing else we did on the trip would match this experience but we tried anyway. Next of th
e list was canoeing and kayaking which we thought would be a relaxing experience. Four of us (3 bailed out and camped instead) rented a canoe and a kayak, wore our life jackets and headed upstream. River was calm, scenery was good and it was all very pleasant and soothing. Except for some speeding motorboats. Paddling ups
tream did take some effort and soon we just hung out the oars and lay down in our boats, soaking every bit of the calm nature experience. Few hours later we were nice and relaxed and headed back to shore. We met up with our team and chilled for a while under shade of a tree where they were camped. With the day drawing to a close it was time to head back home.
e list was canoeing and kayaking which we thought would be a relaxing experience. Four of us (3 bailed out and camped instead) rented a canoe and a kayak, wore our life jackets and headed upstream. River was calm, scenery was good and it was all very pleasant and soothing. Except for some speeding motorboats. Paddling ups
tream did take some effort and soon we just hung out the oars and lay down in our boats, soaking every bit of the calm nature experience. Few hours later we were nice and relaxed and headed back to shore. We met up with our team and chilled for a while under shade of a tree where they were camped. With the day drawing to a close it was time to head back home.It was Monday and later that day we had to start heading back to Minneapolis. We did have one last event planned. It was wine tasting at local winery in Utica County. Small tow
n of Utica had an almost artificial, Hollywood set feel to it. The local winery was known for its fruit wines but we weren’t going to restrict ourselves to those. We pic
ked up our mark sheets and pencils and sat down at the Bar. Starting with the dry red wines, off-dry, fruit and then the dessert wines we tasted most of the 20 wines available on the list. 5 of us started the tasting, 2 bailed out in the middle and 3 that completed it including me, I must say were very shaky on our feet. As expected the really good tasting wines were the fruit wines and sweet wines but couple, I must remark were delightful. Impressed, we all bought a fair share of our bottles. Drunk, it was now time for food and we had a sumptuous meal at a local restaurant. The whole day had a very nice relaxed feel to it, very unlike our previous day.
n of Utica had an almost artificial, Hollywood set feel to it. The local winery was known for its fruit wines but we weren’t going to restrict ourselves to those. We pic
ked up our mark sheets and pencils and sat down at the Bar. Starting with the dry red wines, off-dry, fruit and then the dessert wines we tasted most of the 20 wines available on the list. 5 of us started the tasting, 2 bailed out in the middle and 3 that completed it including me, I must say were very shaky on our feet. As expected the really good tasting wines were the fruit wines and sweet wines but couple, I must remark were delightful. Impressed, we all bought a fair share of our bottles. Drunk, it was now time for food and we had a sumptuous meal at a local restaurant. The whole day had a very nice relaxed feel to it, very unlike our previous day.
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