Two weeks ago, I told you about my acceptance of the Jingos Live Bold Challenge, in which I was tasked to bring a box of bold-tasting crackers on a bold adventure. What could go wrong? In one word— EVERYTHING.

You mean, you didn’t ride in a helicopter high above Manhattan as planned?

No, I did. That part went fine.

Did you go into emergency labor while hovering over the Statue of Liberty as we all feared?

No, the baby is still safely inside.

Then what went so drastically wrong?

Well, while pregnant women pose no helicopter safety concerns whatsoever, apparently, crackers violate numerous codes and are strictly forbidden from exploring the skies of Manhattan.

On our way out to the tarmac, we were instructed to put all our belongings in a locker. In accordance with the Jingos mission (take photos of yourself enjoying the crackers while on your adventure), I removed both my box of crackers and my camera before placing my bag inside.

The pilot looked at me like I was trying to smuggle a bomb (or worse a bottle of Aquafina) on a 747.

“You have to put away the crackers.”

“What? Really?”

“You can’t take food on the helicopter.”

“But…… I’m supposed to take the crackers on the helicopter. That’s the WHOLE POINT.”

“You can’t take crackers on the helicopter.”

“But…… I’m pregnant! I need sustenance or else I panic!”

“You can’t take crackers on the helicopter.”

“Oh. Okay… LOOK!!! THERE’S MEGAN FOX!!!!!”

“What? Where?”

I quickly reached my hand into the box and grabbed a small handful of Parmesan Garlic Jingos, then innocently gave the guy the box to lock away.

The Megan Fox bit might be made up but I did actually manage to sneak a handful of crackers onto the helicopter. Unfortunately, it was done in such haste that only one cracker survived the handful intact.

As I walked across the tarmac, my dress blowing high above my head (Note to self: Do not wear dresses near helicopters especially while pregnant), I carefully concealed my cracker in the palm of my hand, like an inmate carrying a shiv into a prison cafeteria, and prayed I would not get caught.

What happens to someone who sneaks a cracker onto a NYC helicopter? Jail time? Ceremonial tossing into the Hudson River? Exile to New Jersey? This Jingos Live Bold Challenge was shaping up to be much more of an adventure than I imagined!

Once in the air, I tried my best to enjoy the view but mostly, I was thinking about how to pull off a great picture of my one and only Jingos cracker without calling attention to myself.

Again. I totally failed. This was the best I got:

I couldn’t even get the cracker in focus. But on the plus side, the rest of the pictures were AWESOME.

Also, check out my husband looking like he was BORN TO FLY. Is it just me or would he fit really well in a Top Gun remake?

After we landed, we made sure to take a bunch of Jingos pictures to prove they were indeed present for the action, even if they could only dream about sweeping views of Manhattan from inside the comfort of their small metal locker.

The Lime & Sweet Chili variety must have felt particularly ripped off from the experience because when we placed the box on top of some wooden scaffolding to take a picture, it made the BOLD move of jumping clear over the side— no bungee cord, no parachute, NOTHING.

Mike had to climb over to retrieve the little daredevil.

All in all, a fabulously adventurous experience, despite the mission failure. Probably best a pregnant woman didn’t stuff her face with spicy crackers while flying in a small plane anyway. They tasted equally as good from the ground.

Any more questions for me?

Wasn’t this whole thing a giveaway as well?  

Oh, right! Congratulations to Wendy who will be taking her Parmesan Garlic Jingos white water rafting! 

Wendy, you have got your work cut out for you. Cameras and crackers most definitely do not mix with riding an inflatable boat on a rocky river. Unless you like your crackers damp and mealy, maybe you should cut your losses and eat them at home.

Thanks for playing!