Woo Hoo!

What a day I had yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I took a break from my seminar and went outside to find beautiful, mid-70 degree weather with a nice breeze. I was even more surprised when my husband called to say that I was going for a hot air balloon ride that evening. Every year, our town has a hot air balloon festival, and his employer sponsors a balloon pilot. So, they get a ticket for a ride in a balloon, and I got to go. I'd never been in a hot air balloon before, nor had I ever been so close as they were launching.

It was fascinating watching the balloons get inflated

And getting bigger...

The crew inflating the balloon I rode in (isn't it pretty?)

The carousel balloon getting ready for take off

Under the Sea balloon

And there was even a quilt balloon!

And then we launched. I looked back and saw this...

I looked up and saw this...

Then I looked out and saw this...

When we landed, the balloon took a little hop and landed on this...

I have to say, it was a little nerve-wracking not knowing what to expect, which wasn't made easier by the 2 hour wait before the actual launch. They make you sign all kinds of paperwork telling you about the dangers. The side of the basket was kind of high, and I'm kind of short so I needed my husband's help pushing me to get in the balloon. This has to be done quickly after the balloon is ready to go as there were several people who had to hold down the balloon to keep it from going up too soon. It was pretty hot out there with all the propane being shot into the balloons.


I was holding on for dear life as we ascended. I'm sure it was safe, but the higher we went, the smaller the sides of that basket seemed to get. And then they tell you the landing is the most dificult part, and you have to brace yourself so you have that on your mind. The landing actually went very well. The work that goes into preparing for launch and packing up once the flight is done is incredible. I've talked to several people who have gone up in hot air balloons, and they seem to have the same opinion I do. It was fun, it was interesting, and now that I've done it, I don't think I would do it again. Thank you Nancy for allowing me to experience this.


If you want to see more pictures, go to here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39917877@N06/


Hope you enjoyed the show. Karen