For birthdays in our family we like to do experience gifts. The kids have really enjoyed going to the Space Needle for Dinner for their birthday and I was thinking about what to do for my husband for his birthday. I thought a fun birthday gift might be a sight-seeing trip in a small plane and I looked into taking one from Kenmore Air somewhere. My husband has been talking about learning to fly for a long time and it’s always been a little scary for me to fully embrace that dream so I thought by going in a tiny plane first we could take it one step at a time. I am actually quite terrified of flying and I know that if he starts flying one day I’ll have to go with him.
But then a friend made the flying dream happen about a week before his birthday. My husband flew up in the air in a four-seater plane and his friend even let him touch the controls a little bit.
Of course my husband thought this was the greatest thing ever.
And even though I no longer had a birthday gift for him, seeing how much he loved flying with his friend that day made me realize that he better get his wings. So we’re looking into flying lessons and I’m excited for him even though it’s still frightening. At least he has to log in a lot of hours before I can get into the plane with him.
I also realized the next perfect gift I could get my hubby.
We went to IFLY Seattle. This is a place where you can ACTUALLY fly and you don’t even need a plane. Except you fly without anything on you-it’s indoor skydiving!
“We are making your flying dreams happen!” my 7-year-olds squealed to their dad as we walked towards the door of the ginormous Ifly building.
I think all their dreams were coming true at that moment.
We really did fly. I felt like Peter Pan during my indoor skydiving moment.
We did an introductory course and three out of four of us chose to add a 10 dollar flight to the top of the flight center.
I watched in horror as my kids and husband gleefully flew far above my head. But they all arrived safely back on solid ground.
So what can I say?
I better just get used to this. Next time I might even try flying to the top too.
(Have you tried Ifly Seattle? And does your family find thrill in the things that terrify you?)
(PS. there is an Entertainment book coupon that saved us a TON of money on this flight. It was a buy one get one free coupon. The Ifly Seattle Facebook page also has discount codes from time to time and I heard you might be able to get Costco gift certificates too.)
(PPS. next time I think I’ll bring the grandparents to take pics from the outside when we fly and we’ll probably make them fly too. The videos we bought were amazing but the pictures were a little pricey for the quality and I know a lady was taking pictures while we flew and I wish I gave her my email because I think she probably got some better ones.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
That actually looks like a lot of fun! There is an iFLY Dallas location that I drive past all the time and I’ve always wondered what it was like. Thanks for the review, I think we will have to check them out sometime.
It looks like so much fun! I really want to try it!
We did this in Austin and the kids had a blast. I would have loved to join in but was worried that it might be rough on my back? They kids seemed to be folded in the wrong direction from the wind. LOL! Awesome fun!
Oh my gosh! That is so crazy cool! I had no idea that places like that even existed! I hope flying lessons go well for your husband and that you feel safe with him up in the air!
Oh my goodness, how fun! What a great birthday present for your husband!