Fly in a Helicopter
Once Kevin, Susan, and I all registered for a race in Arizona in January, I proposed we go up a little earlier and take a short road trip up to the Grand Canyon and stay in a cool place nearby. My secret was that I decided to book a helicopter ride for the three of us that would take us over the Grand Canyon. My original idea for my helicopter ride was going to be over New York City, but the idea of going over the canyon seemed like a much better idea.
I decided to keep the ride a secret from Kevin and Susan, but Susan definitely knew something was up and a couple weeks before asked me if she needed to be prepared with dramamine or anything like that. I had to tell her that, yes, she would need it and that we were going on a helicopter ride. I still wanted to keep it a surprise from Kevin though. Once we landed in Phoenix and got our rental car, we had a super quick breakfast and started the 3+ hour drive up to the Grand Canyon.
I tried to throw a couple of red herrings out there by talking about donkeys and mules and then about a possible tour that hopefully wouldn’t leave without us. We were running behind in my timeline, so I was a bit stressed.
We got there on time though with 15 minutes to spare before our required check-in time. I did a lot of research on the best companies and the ones to stay away from. I went with Maverick Helicopters because of their good reviews. It was a total surprise to Kevin, or at least that’s what he told me.
I didn’t know this prior to reserving, but as part of the check-in, they weigh all of the passengers to figure out the best weight distribution. I did put in our approximate weights while reserving, but there still had to be a balance on all of the passengers for the exact day of the flight.
We went out to the helicopter where they told us we would have assigned seats. I was a bit bummed because I imagined all three of us sitting in the front. Susan and I ended up in the front with another lady and then Kevin and the other lady were in the back on each side by the windows. Susan was a bit trepidatious and thought we were too close to the ground while we were taking off, but we were fine!
Getting up into the air was great and the pilot made his way over the forest and to “the hole” as the three of us had been calling it all day. It. Was. Incredible. Such an amazing way to view the Grand Canyon. I took photos and videos, but they do not do it justice at all. It rained a little bit while we were in the air, but it didn’t affect the smoothness of the ride, oddly enough.
Such a great experience though, I’m glad I chose the Grand Canyon for my helicopter ride!!
