Last year we bought a groupon…a discounted helicopter tour of Atlanta, from Air Atlanta Helicopters, through groupon.com

Helicopter

Earlier this year, I finally made a reservation. Not to be outdone by all the other procrastination efforts I’ve undertaken, this one expires March, so it had to be sooner rather than later.

We made it to the W around 4PM. Our reservation was at 5PM, so we opted to take in some liquid encouragement prior to the flight. Our Ciroc vodka martinis were the industry standard $12 a piece…although, they were served in rather small glasses. I’m guessing two shots rather than the at-home-standard three-shot vodka martini that we’re normally used to. 🙂

After finishing our drink, yet still 30 minutes prior to our reservation, we walked to the welcome desk. Not sure what to expect….we told the concierge were there for a helicopter ride, and he pointed to our Air Atlanta escort who took us to the elevator, and pressed the impressive “H” elevator button. We were whisked past the 27th floor…the elevator doors opened, and our escort directed us out the building onto the rooftop…”go up there to the helicopter, and I’ll meet you back here when you return.”

Slightly taken aback, we walked up the metal stairs to the chopping noise of the helicopter’s churning blades…there it was…a tiny little red helicopter. We were greeted by Kevin who welcomed us. He let us know that we didn’t have to duck walking to the helicopter (no chance of getting the top of our heads lopped off), and cautioned us to avoid walking too far towards the end of the copter (where we might get chopped up by the tail rotor blade) as he took our picture. Kevin helped us climb aboard the helicopter, get strapped in, and waved as we took off.

Our pilot, Scott, was very calm, even when his door opened up as we took off. He was very nonchalant, waiting until we were well into the air with nothing beneath us before he reached over to shut his door. Not scared. Not at all.

Piedmont park was our first spot…we banked over the park before heading to Atlantic Station. From there, we were whisked off to Centennial Olympic Park, where we flew over the Georgia Aquarium. Unfortunately, we didn’t spot any beluga whales through the skylights—maybe next time. We looped towards the Georgia Dome, making our way towards Turner Field, where we banked with a nice view directly onto the field.

We followed I-85/75 heading back towards Atlantic Station, making the loop back to the rooftop of the W.

Awesome.