There’s a DZ just outside of town. Perplexed? Confounded? To a surprising number of citizens in our population, it means something. It triggers their adrenal cortex, exhilaration, ecstasy. To a few, it draws eyes wide open. Wider! For Ray Ferrell, it’s the Drop Zone, along with parachutes and airplane exit doors opened at 12,000 feet. Yes, Ray is a skydiver; but not just any skydiver. If you’ve happened by the Yolo County Airport looking for your connecting flight to Amsterdam, you will find him amidst a well-managed facility, owning and operating the successful business, Sky Dance SkyDiving .“Why?” you might ask. There are two parts to that interrogative: why skydiving? Why Davis?

“As a kid, I was always infatuated with heights,” Ray offered, a pleasant grin in his contemplation. “A bit of an adventure kid. I always thought jumping out of an airplane would be a fun thing to do once in your life. I tried it once and fell in love with it. Changed my life. This was back in North Carolina, in 1976.”

Some Easterners (or Southerners, in the East) wouldn’t set foot in California; others are drawn here. Ray? “My friends were moving out here.” Ray recalled thinking, “No way. You guys [Californians] are crazy. California’s full of nuts. It was culture shock for me. After awhile, however, the idea of moving to California was enticing. It became an adventure and I went for it.” 1978 was the year.