Last Saturday I crossed off a hot air balloon from my bucket list! Jason and I were supposed to do it on my birthday but the weather was not right. So we had to try again last Saturday and the weather was perfect! It was by far one of the best experiences of my life! If you think that you might want to do it, do it! There is nothing like gliding along in a little basket with a view of 365 degrees. We went up 2,000 feet and just floated along. We got to land the balloon on two different lakes which was awesome! The basket just floats along the water and then the balloon goes up again and the ride continues. We got to ride for an hour and went about 8 miles. We landed in a beautiful field and the chaser picked us up right away. The pilot of the balloon really has no control over where the balloon goes, the wind really does just carry you away. With saying that, the pilot had no idea where we were going to land. We just had to find a spot, meaning an opened field when it was time for our hour to be done. There is a person on the ground who followed us called the chaser, so that when we land they can put the balloon back in the trailer and take us back to our car. You never take off and return to the same spot. It was such a great present for my 30th birthday and I hope that I can do it again before I die. Is there such a thing as re-adding something to your bucket list?
The entire balloon fits in this little bag. All 110 feet of it!
Pulling the balloon out of the bag!
Getting it all set up.
Getting closer to full!
Almost there... using the fan to blow up the balloon
This is the inside of the balloon
Jason got to help and he had to turn off the fan when he was told to do so.
Lifting the balloon off the ground
Upright!
The hot flame that makes the balloon go up! It was a hot ride...literally!
Take off...the trucks below!
Up and over...
The sun was just coming up!
Gorgeous views!
The first lake we landed on.
Lifting back off of the lake and the water dripping off the bottom of the basket while the balloon makes a beautiful reflection.
Leaving the lake
If you look close on the road below, you can see our chaser on the side of the road!
The trees that we flew through and I got a tree top...you can see it below!
My tree top!
Very up close...the basket is small and there is no back up room!
Sunrise!
The second lake we landed on.
Landing on the lake!
Leaving the lake...the water dripping from the bottom of the basket again!
Our reflection while we were getting ready to land.
Once we landed on ground our pilot got out and Jason got to push the button to make us go up a little as the pilot and chaser pulled the balloon towards the driveway for pack up.
Tim, the pilot with Jason in the basket and Chad the Chaser outside.
Tim set up a beautiful breakfast for us of champagne and (sparkling grape juice for me) and fruit. He told us all about how ballooning got started!
My hot air balloon made from the cork of the champagne bottle. Thanks Chad!
Breakfast was delicious and so super sweet!
We are standing infront of the basket which is laying down. If you look closely you can see mud on our forheads. It is a tradition to have mud put on your forehead from the ground of your first landing. It was fun!
The trailer that the entire balloon and basket fit into!
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