Mya Williams: Calling All the Maximum Thrill Seekers

A short few years ago, for our honeymoon, we headed to South Beach, Miami, Florida. We spent our days cycling scenic routes, taking in culture, shopping, hanging on the beach and eating, while the nights were spent bar hopping and clubbing. The absolute highlight of the trip though, was going skydiving. YES! I convinced my partner (who was extremely petrified) to jump out of a plane at 15,000 feet. I am a maximum thrill seeker and once I found out there was a skydiving centre in Miami, I immediately put it on our to do list.

The experience was exhilarating to say the least. It truly is one of the best memories I have. My husband on the other hand may disagree – I can still hear his screams very clearly “I’m falling, I’m falling, I want to go back down, please put me down” I remember thinking to myself then, a few metres away from him; also free falling “well, you’re definitely on your way down”. Whenever I need a good laugh, I watch his skydiving video. He would later admit it was quite an experience, though he says the worst part of it was the flight. Obviously, we had to fly in a plane to achieve the 15,000 feet we needed to dive safely, but the plane was TINY! Both of us strapped to our flying instructors and with little room to manoeuvre, I was literally almost bumping heads with the pilot. For me, the only moment I balked was when the doors opened and I looked down; with the world beneath me, for a second I thought to myself “who sent you”. But once we started free falling, the adrenalin rush was insane. It really is an experience; I would love to go again, though I’m sure I will be on my own!

I have always loved adventure and the outdoors, so last week when we were lucky enough to get away to Los Angeles for a break, I knew Six Flags (a roller coaster theme park) had to be on our list. I have been to some other theme parks prior to this trip (Alton Towers and Thorpe Park) but I had heard that Six Flags, Magic Mountain in LA, was the mother of all roller coaster theme parks (Trust America to always be ahead) and so it was a must.

Forgetting how angry the sun was that day, we had a blast! Once again, I was faced with a lot of resistance and after just one ride, le hubby said he was done and nothing was making him budge. He once again took this opportunity to remind me that I made him jump out of a plane, so he got comfy in front of a live band with some food. Armed with my map of the park, I went in search of the rides that had been listed under “maximum level”. Being low season, there were hardly any queues for almost all the rides and I got to do most rides twice; the ride would end and depending on how much I liked it, I’d just stay put and go again. I’d heard about one in particular – X2 and most agreed it was the maddest ride of the park, so I saved it for last; even the name excited me. I tell you, X2 did not disappoint. As I climbed up the stairs to the entrance of X2, a batch was just getting off the ride and I could see there was some scrambling going on; it turns out a girl had just come off and was about to puke, so the attendants were scrambling for a bin. I didn’t let that scare me oh, I got in, buckled up and prepared to be blown away and blown away I was! Hands down, best ride of the park! I know this because, aside from the most unusual and mind boggling dips, turns, flips and twists, as a rollercoaster veteran, I’m not that much of a screamer, I just enjoy it with short bursts of “woahs and ahs” here and there, but on X2, I screamed all the way and went THREE times. It was amazing!

Fellow thrill seekers and soon to be inducted, if you find yourself in Six Flags, you MUST try X2, Full Throttle, Scream, Goliath, Tatsu and Superman amongst others, these are the best rides. And if you’re brave enough to stomach sky diving, I highly recommend it, you’ll love it, but please please and please, DO NOT close your eyes when you free fall, you’ll spoil the fun!

Photo Credit: Dreamstime | Innovatedcaptures