3 Tips For Aspiring Spies (Keeping Up With the Joneses)

{Consideration provided by Twentieth Century Fox}

It takes mad skills to be a spy. You have to be smart and savvy…adventurous and agile. And it helps to have a touch of creativity. In honor of Twentieth Century Fox’s latest release Keeping Up With the Joneses, I spent one day in Spy-ce Camp working on my spy skills. So what does it take to be a spy?

Hone Your Spy Chops Like the Joneses

First, you have to be agile, possess incredible endurance, and be able to follow instructions precisely. Indoor skydiving at iFly Hollywood was the perfect start to our Spy-ce Camp. After a brief flight training video, we donned a flight suit, helmet and goggles before entering the flight chamber.

iFly Hollywood simulates the freefall experience of skydiving inside a vertical wind tunnel, and it made me feel just like one of the Joneses. This is one of the most thrilling activities I’ve done to-date, and despite the fact that I was incredibly nervous, I felt completely safe with the professional instructors on-site. There isn’t much to know besides a few signals to help ensure your body is positioned properly. The instructor remains inside the chamber the whole time to help ensure safety and maximum thrills. Children as young as 3 can fly and there are only a few restrictions including back, neck, shoulder, or heart problems.

Second, you have to be precise, so we headed over to Residuals Tavern where Vice President of the Southern California Dart Association Eddie O’Flaherty showed us how to improve our aim and hit the target. Body position as it relates the the target as well as how you hold the dart are the keys to success. Even when I did everything the way I was taught, I still found my darts going wayward. The art of dart throwing is truly a skill, best left to the experts.

Lastly, a true spy like the Joneses should have a creative repertoire of skills for tackling even the toughest scenarios. Our last training was in the kitchen where we learned how to Spy-ce things up. Chef Saverio Posarelli, who you may know as the culinary expert behind LA’s Café Fiore and PLATA, walked us through the preparation of a gourmet meal including a fresh salad complimented by kabocha squash, candied pecans and a raspberry dressing, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, a simple risotto served inside a mini pumpkin, and Lingue di Gatto (a pastry dough baked then topped with fresh fruit and ice cream).

Keeping Up With the Joneses stars Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher as a suburban couple who find themselves in the shadow of their ultra-sophisticated neighbors played by Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot. When they learn that the Joneses are actually government agents, the couple becomes entangled in an international espionage plot. See the film in theaters today, October 21st, 2016. You can also keep up with the Joneses on Twitter and Facebook.

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Caryn Bailey

Caryn is a NICU nurse by day, blogger by night and mom 24/7. She savors the warm Southern California sun and loves to travel, shopping, baking, reading and frequenting her local tea room. Caryn created the column Lavishly Green for Peekaboo Picks Magazine to share her best tips for going green in style, she is the Former editor for Family Review Network, former OC Family Magazine online contributor, former Orange County Moms Blog contributor, former Evenflo Savvy Parent contributor, former member of the Totsy Advisory Board and former freelance writer for CBS Los Angeles.