Note: This post is part of an ongoing blog series called #costamesa365 where the author is striving to shop only* in her city of Costa Mesa, for a year.
I want to fly.
Not in an airplane.
Not in a jetpack.
Not in my imagination.
I literally want to FLY.
Shoot up into the air merely of my own ability. Soar amongst the clouds and birds with nothing but air rushing past. Swoop and cruise, just me and my powers of flight.
It’s been a dream since I can remember. My family jokes about flying all the time, a recurring theme in our conversations.
Which is how it came to be that today – the day before my birthday – I found myself strapped prone to a large, moving, tablelike contraption, with a fan blowing in my face, and an oculus rift cinched tight across my eyes.
Basically, like this – minus the aerodynamic catsuit:
Photo credit: Birdly
The story of how this happened goes a little something like this:
Sometime late last year, my husband was Googling around and discovered Birdly. He instantly knew it would be my birthday gift.
For those who don’t know, Birdly is an immersive, virtual-reality, flight simulator – designed by some freaking-amazing geniuses – that makes you feel like you are actually flying. You’re a bird that can bank and swoop and turn via hand-paddle control as you soar through a virtual world.
Yes! Living the dream!
When my husband first discovered Birdly, the nearest one was up in Sacramento. So he started looking for cheap flights to Sac town.
(That is how badly I want to fly! He was going to jet us to Sacramento and I would have been like, “Yup, seems reasonable.”)
But then, an upscale arcade opening in the DTLA Arts District, Two Bit Circus, announced that they would have a Birdly! My husband got to booking.
Flash forward to earlier today… and I’m flighted! Lost in a prehistoric world of rivers and mountains and roving bands of Brontosaurs, just flying my guts out. I swoop down and skim along a glassy pond. I circle a couple of Tyrannosaurs, banking quickly around the teeth. I dip down into a ravine then crest back to where the blue sky waits.
It was awesome. If you dream of flight like I do, I highly recommend.
I’m confessing my nerd-love of flying and VR for two reasons:
1) Transparency: My husband booked this whole surprise trip before I went #costamesa365 so though it’s technically allowable, I still felt a little guilty celebrating my b-day in L.A. I wanted to report back to keep myself mindful and accountable.
2) Desire: When is Costa Mesa going to get VR already? Because Two Bit Circus was SO EPIC and would be a total fit for our city’s vibe! It’s an independent, imaginative, grown-up version of the arcades we all loved as kids – made better by the addition of VR, escape rooms, party games, retro-arcade favorites – plus cocktails and food-truck-style eats.
(The Triangle would make the perfect location – just sayin’!)
I’d love to someday be able to “score some soar” here in Costa Mesa and let my flight flag fly. ♥
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*We will always start by shopping / looking in Costa Mesa, first. But if we really need something and an alternative is nowhere to be found in Costa Mesa, we’ll stray. Also, as parents, we’ve decided that certain kid-related things (mainly educational) will need to remain baked in.
