About LAist

LAist is a website about Los Angeles. More

Editor: Zach Behrens Publisher: Gothamist

About | Archive | Contact | Mobile | RSS | Staff

Categories
Recent Comments
Favorites
Contribute

Latest tip:

Flew twice over Laurel Canyon, unbelievably loud. Appears to have been a "missing man" flyover, u [more]

 

Latest link:

 

Latest Photo:

 

Subscribe
Use an RSS reader to stay up to date with the latest news and posts from LAist.
Neighborhood Project, Los Angeles Communities

Links

December 11, 2007

Gifts of Action and Adventure

shark divingTired of the same old gifts? Who needs another tie, or some tchotchke that just becomes one more thing to dust? How about giving someone a gift certificate to swim with great white sharks? I'll bet that's one gift they will always remember - hopefully for the right reasons.
99 Blue Bananas provides gift packages that arrive at the recipient's door in a tasteful blue folder including a gift card and relevant information for the adventure of your choosing.

Great White Shark Diving will set you back $2,650 for a five day adventure. It is definitely on the generous side, but it's the one I'll be asking for from Santa.

If that's a little rich for your blood, for only $99 you can actually fly a plane over Los Angeles, with a trained pilot there to handle the takeoff and landing (or in case you choke and curl up in a fetal position on the floor of the cockpit). On a mellower scale, there are cooking lessons, tours, and Corvette racing (Sorry, I got a little bit excited again).

More adventures and videos after the jump!

Universal Studios has just opened IFly, a clear acrylic 30-foot vertical wind tunnel. It simulates skydiving using the same technology used to train military personnel. This gift certificate is virtually a steal at only 39.95. The drill for first-timers involves a short training session, then you enter the wind tunnel with a trained professional who basically holds you the same way dads do when they are teaching you to swim. After you are comfortable, he goes on a few high flights with you while still hanging on tight, so no fear. On future visits, they can teach you cool kung-fu movie moves and you can go in the simulator alone or with friends.

This is a video of the pros showing what is possible. It will take more than one visit to pull off these moves:


One of the best presents I ever received was a gift certificate for a helicopter ride to Catalina. I will never forget that trip, or the friend who gave it to me. Island Express offers round-trips to Catalina for $156 plus tax. The ride is mellow, like sitting on a couch, but if you are nice to the pilot, sometimes they will do some swoops for you on the DL. They also offer helicopter tours of the city. I can't guarantee a romantic helicopter tour will get you any action, but it sure seems to work on the girls on The Bachelor.

I took my mom on my trip to Catalina. Here is a video I took of us taking off from Catalina on the return trip home:

Photo of shark courtesy of 99 Bananas. Video of helicopter over Catalina by Elise Thompson.

Email This Entry







Advertisement: LAist Continues Below!

Comments (2) [rss]

omg i want the great white shark diving too...that would be amazing.

 

time to start going to Universal Studios, sweet!

 
Post a comment (Comment Policy)

2003-2008 Gothamist LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use & Privacy Policy. We use MovableType.