How we crashed a (pretend) plane

You know how sometimes you find yourself in a situation you are not completely sure how you managed to land yourself into? Well, that is NOT what happened to me. I know exactly how I got there. I thought it will be fun. Because, apparently somewhere along the way I've lost a few of my marbles, and did not put together "cable car" and "fear of heights".
And because it was sunny and warm and we decided we have to "live life to the fullest" and "try everything London has to offer" and such things.
And because it was Saturday and to be good parents you have to spend time with your kids on Saturdays creating memories (apparently letting them play on the iPad all day does not create memories).
So off we went to the Emirates Aviation Experience and Cable Car.
Unfortunately by the time I was standing on the sunny Greenwich sidewalk looking up at the cable cars gliding merrily on what (from down below) looked to be as thick as a sewing thread and it finally dawned on me that not only do I not like heights very much I also hate not being in control and firmly on land, it was too late to back down.

By then Yon had already gone through the whole crying-because-he-wanted-to-do-something-else routine, and Ron has gone through the whole I-am-afraid-of-things-randomely routine (he doesn't have a real fear of heights, he just likes to adapt his fears to fit the occasion) and because we firmly believe in the never-back-down parenting method - which means if started something (an argument, a war or a fun activity) we will win it at all costs. Otherwise the kids will win. And they already control too much of the house as it is - we simply had to go on.
So on we went, with a "it's going to be fun" face on the outside and a "who the hell wanted to do that?!" shivers on the inside.

The view from down below

We decided to go do the Aviation Experience part first, because it held the best part of the day - flight simulator. It costs 45 pounds for 30 minutes, which is a lot. A lot. And it is only for kids over 9 (because younger kids just can't reach the pedals). But since it was supposed to be really awesome we decided to give it a go. As it happened you can buy one ticket for 45 pounds and use it for up to 4 people and that way each gets a turn flying an airplane, which makes the whole thing a little more reasonably priced (but honestly since when we were there we were the only ones actually using the simulators, and there were 6 of them, I think they could lower the price a bit).

Getting in to the simulator

Yon (who does't reach the pedals and so couldn't be a real pilot) was in charge of releasing the wheels, and the rest of us listened intently to the very long explanation about all the gears and bars and pedals before we took our turns trying to not crash.

Poor Ron crashed us right into the Duty Free building, while I managed to land on the wrong runway and Hidai, who managed to avoid both misfortunes, was crowned "best pilot of the day".

Trying to fly an airplane. Not as easy as you'd think

It is a very cute building to walk around even if you don't want to do the simulation (though it was hilarious) and you have a virtual cockpit where you can get your photo taken (though I would recommend taking it yourself. We are still waiting for the one they took) and a lego model of a plain engine and a very funny video showing the flight from your suitcase's point of view.

Lego model

What happens to your suitcase when you fly 

Kids

By the time we finished all that there was a queue for the cable-car, a long one, but it moved fairly quickly - even Yon didn't complain much (which is how we measure queues these days). And after we found the elevator (not easy, and no way Yon could handle all the stairs) and got up to the cable car platform we found ourselves in another queue! Sometimes I wonder if these places think waiting in the queue is considered part of the fun...

Geting in to the cable car

Getting into the moving cable-car was (more than) a little scary and when the doors closed I have to admit I was extremely nervous, ok, I was having a slight panic attack which I think I hid very well, especially because Ron was having one of his own.

Do you think he's enjoying himself?

Look at me hiding my panic attack

It is a long ride, much longer than the one I remembered in Israel or in Gibraltar, and as we took the round trip without leaving the cable car it looked like it took forever.
The good news - nobody threw up, the view is amazing and I took about a million photos, and it was a lot less bumpier than I thought. Oh, and it didn't fall.

The view

And that is how we got to crash an airplane, not fall from a bubble in the sky and learn a valuable lesson - people with control issues and fear of height should not go on cable cars. And if they do, they shouldn't look down (trust me on that one. Down is a long way when you are up there).
But sometimes, when you find yourself asking "how the f*&^ck did I get here???" You end up doing something amazing, and what the hell, you even make some memories.