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Some people are content being merely passengers in cars or planes, for example and others prefer to take the wheel. Juli Harlan clearly falls into the latter category.
A native of Newport Beach, Calif., Harlan has always traveled extensively, spending time in New Zealand and Australia before landing a modeling contract in Greece. She stayed there for a year before heading back to California, then moved to Westport in 1998 with her three now teenage boys.
Harlan, whose passion for fast cars was recorded in this newspaper a few months ago, had always wanted to take helicopter-flying lessons and decided one recent sunny day to take to the sky.
"I bought the lesson from Travel Zoo and figured, 'why not?' I had only been in a helicopter once before in New Zealand and had really liked it. "
The experience, she says, "was an absolute blast." She was grounded during the first part of her lesson for basic instruction. But the second section clearly lifted her spirits. "It was exciting, to say the least. After the whole 'flight check' thing, we took off and flew out over Westchester County Airport. Seeing the Tappan Zee Bridge from the air of an open helicopter was quite a thrill. The doors of the helicopter were off, which was scary at first, but really nice once we got up in the air."
When asked whether she would take another lesson, Harlan expressed enthusiasm, but she suspects she'd like to try other adventures first. "My life has become so busy, and there are some other thrills that I would love to try," she says.
This winter, Harlan is planning a trip to Australia with her three boys. And she's already planning her next exploits. "Maybe I'll try bungee jumping," she says. Why not?
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