Fly like an eagle

August 5th-- Today was an exciting day for Abby and me. We had signed up for paragliding yesterday. I had wanted to do it and Abby had seemed interested so I signed her up as well. We were a little skeptical that she would end up backing out, but our fears were quickly dashed when she woke up asking if it was time to go yet. Our time was not until 12:00 noon, so we had the morning to hang around the apartment and wait. We ate an early lunch and a little before noon, we headed to the funicular station to meet our tandem pilots and start our way up the mountain. Amy and Austin decided to head into town for a little shopping. Austin was not happy that he was not getting to go (not because he wasn't old enough, but because we thought he was too young to really appreciate it), so Amy took him into town to get a treat. Abby and I met one of the pilots, Stu, on our way to the station. He was just coming down from another flight. It was an absolutly beautiful day, with not a cloud in the sky. We headed up the funicular with him and then took the gondola up to Blauherd, our launch area. We were taking off from 2600 meters and flying back into Zermatt at 1600 meters. Abby talked the entire way up the funicular and gondola. Again, any worries I had about her being scared, were dashed. Once we got to the launch area, Stu started setting up his equipment. Shortly after, Abby's pilot, Ronnie arrived and set up. We took a few pictures and they took some video of Abby. There was another couple at the launch area and everyone was getting a kick out of Abby. She was cracking them up with her questions and comments. At one point when she had gotten her pack on, she shouted out real loud, "look at my big booty". We had decided for Abby to go first so I could make sure she got off safely (and didn't panic at the last minute) and then I would go right behind her. Ronnie and Abby got hooked up, waited for the wind and then with a count of 3, they were walking off the mountain and into the air. It was a great launch and was funny to see Abby's feet still "walking" after take-off. She later said she thought she was still on the ground. Stu and I got hooked up and were ready for take off, but the wind had died down. We had to wait almost 5 minutes before we were able to take off. We had hoped to be able to get side-by-side with Abby, but this kept that from happening. The ride was unbelievable. It really wasn't scary at all and provided some just unbelievable views. It was a very smooth flight that lasted about 15 minutes. Near the very end, Stu asked if I wanted to do some tricks in the air. I, of course, said "yes". So he did a couple of flips and then a spin. I'm glad it was at the end, because it definitely made me dizzy. Just a few minutes later, we were on the ground, greeted by Abby, Austin and Amy. Abby was all smiles and had loved the ride. We landed a little earlier than anticipated, so Amy almost missed seeing Abby land. She said they were walking to the landing area and saw someone in the air. She wasn't sure it was Abby, but decided to take a few pics just in case. When she realized it was her, she took off running for the landing area, getting there just before she landed. Luckily, Austin's a good runner because I think she left him behind. It was a very cool experience, and I'm glad that Abby and I had the opportunity to do it. Once we had come down off our high (literally and figuratively), we headed back up the mountain to the large playground at Blauhard. The kids had played here on Monday when the weather was bad, so they wanted to go back when it was pretty. The kids played for a while on all the different equipment. It was a little warm in the sun, so we decided to take one more gondola up to the highest point on this mountain, Rothorn. Once on top, there was a restaurant and a viewing area. We had a snack and the kids played on a slide and see-saw. We then took the gondola and funicular back down to Zermatt. We headed into town to pick up our photos and videos of the flight. Ronnie was working and suggested a restaurant named Nelly's for dinner. He works there in the evenings. Also, the CD was not ready so Ronnie was to bring it to us at the restaurant. It was a great choice as they had an outdoor terrace, wonderful food and 2 ride-on toy tractors for the kids. The owner actually has 2 small kids so he leaves them there for them or any other kids. The restaurant was on a side street so the kids were able to play while we enjoyed dinner. Ronnie showed up about 7:00 with the CD. We chatted with him for a little while longer finding out he was from Australia. So, he gave us some suggestions and tips for our trip there. We had to work at it, but finally got the kids off the tractors and said good-bye to Ronnie. It was a great end to a great day.