25 in 25: #16 helicopter ride

#16 was an incredible new york helicopter tour. i was going to be in new york for a wedding so it just seemed fitting to take advantage of a weekend in the big apple and get a birds eye view of the city that never sleeps. well, the pre-planned trip and the fact that i have now entered crunch time.

for my first helicopter ride, i must say, it was fantastic. my boyfriend, a 25 in 25 trooper, joined me in my shameless tourist adventure. after arriving in new york and settling in at 3 am, we cat napped and got up early to enjoy our time in the sky. we had a breakfast of champions, wandered the streets of new york, hailed a cab and showed up with plenty of time to spare.

when it was our turn, we strapped on our safety gear, watched a safety video and headed out to the helicopter for our photo op. one-by-one and couple-by-couple people lined up to stand in front of the helicopter and pose for a picture. immediately after the picture, you were escorted to your seats in the helicopter.

cheesin'

david and i were last in line. we followed the same drill, waited in line, stood in front of the helicopter, posed for a picture and were escorted inside. except i got the universal stop sign, the hand, and was told to wait. at first i thought the helicopter was full and i wasn't going to be on the same helicopter ride as david. i was bummed. but then once david was seated, they came back from me and sat me right up front with the pilot! i was stoked. beyond stoked. second best seat in the house!! (first was next to david, cheesy.. i know but i like the cheese. so cheese it on up.)

riding shotgun

we took off shortly after and flew over the hudson river. as the pilot turned on the automated tour guide information he switched the controls so only he and i could chat. i got my very own private tour. we saw the statue of liberty, south street sea port, brooklyn bridge, manhattan bridge and wall street financial center. then as the tour information ended the peak of my first helicopter ride commenced. the one and only frank sinatra came through the speakers. come fly with me, we'll fly, we'll fly away. how fitting.

i immediately glanced back at david (he was sitting right behind me) with an ear to ear smile and bursted with joy. so much joy that the pilot looked at me and asked if i was okay. i let him know i was better than okay and began to rant about how much i adore frank sinatra's music. he smiled back at me and began to point towards the area frank sinatra grew up. we instantly bonded.

the whole flight only lasted about 15-20 minutes, but it was incredible. the sights were great and the flight was awesome but the cherry on top was definitely the touch of frank. there are different options that give you the opportunity to see more sights and have longer air time. the tour i ventured on was the shortest ride, called the liberty tour.