On impulse
This entire experience started with one impulsive decision. I found a hot air balloon ride with "above the clouds" scheduled for June 13, I paid $395 and booked it before I had enough time to talk myself out of it.
Then I received a message saying we wouldn’t be flying on June 13 because of the weather. I completely understood, but that delay gave my mind time to start racing. The decision had been impulsive, so I had originally been prepared to do it before I could overthink everything.
Now I had extra time to become nervous,and it didn’t help that some of my family and friends were saying, “Maybe this is a sign that you shouldn’t do it.”
And I’m thinking, “Girl, I just paid $395 What do you mean I shouldn’t do it?” I chose to believe that it was a good sign and that they cared about our safety more than anything.
When the rescheduled morning finally arrived, I stayed awake the entire night on purpose. I knew that if I took a nap, there was no way I was getting back out of bed at 2:30 in the morning to drive anywhere. So I stayed up, got dressed and prepared to leave.
I left around 2:30 a.m. so I could arrive on time for our 5:00 a.m. flight. I won’t lie, the closer it got to the time for me to leave, the more nervous I became. But I had already made my decision, so I entered the destination and started driving.
When I arrived, it was still dark out and apparently I was very early. I think I got there about 40 minutes before everyone else, including the staff.
The gate was locked, so I sat in my car and texted the staff to make sure I was in the correct place.
While I waited in the car, I got to watch the sky slowly brighten into this beautiful sunrise. Eventually, everyone started arriving as well.
Once I went inside, there were snacks and drinks prepared. There was coffee, tea and homemade apple bread, and that apple bread was amazing!!.
there were several hot air balloon souvenirs available, including pillows, tumblers, coffee mugs, wine holders and socks. I knew immediately that I would be coming back to that display after the flight.
we waited outside for the balloon to be prepared, this beautiful dog came running over to greet us all. She was so cute, and I didn’t mind her jumping up on me at all.
What I forgot was that the weather had been bad the day before, so the ground was still muddy. She had mud on her paws and got it all over my pink pants.
I had to run to the bathroom and try to clean it off, but thankfully it came out and dried before the flight. but I couldn’t even be upset. She was too cute.
I started thinking about all the videos I had watched beforehand. I’m one of those people who likes to over prepare when I’m doing something unfamiliar because I don’t want to do anything incorrectly.
I had watched people climb into balloon baskets in every possible way. Some people stepped over the side, some crawled in sideways and others practically had to swing a leg over and jump in.
So I’m standing there wondering, “How exactly am I supposed to get into this thing?”
After all that research and overthinking, my section of the basket had a little gate that opened. All I had to do was walk inside.
I believe I was placed in that section because another passenger and I were both riding solo, while the couples were grouped in the other sections. The other passengers still had to use the little steps and put their legs over to get inside.
Meanwhile, after watching all those videos and preparing for a full-body workout, I simply stepped through a gate.
As the balloon continued filling, the pilot occasionally fired the burner above us. You could really feel that heat, it got very, very hot, but it didn’t frighten me. It was just surprising how strongly you could feel it every time the flame went up.
Once we finally started rising, I realized that I wasn’t scared at all. I was mostly focused on holding my phone tightly because I did not want to watch it fall out of my hands from hundreds of feet in the air.
The pilot was amazing. He was funny, told us stories, explained what was happening and kept everyone entertained throughout the flight.
There were two balloons in the sky that morning. Ours carried the passengers, while the second balloon followed nearby with what I believe was an instructor and a pilot in training. You can see their balloon behind me in my picture and video.
The views were absolutely beautiful. Flying in an airplane lets you see incredible things, but this felt completely different. We were in the open air, floating above the trees and feeling that crisp morning breeze around us.
It felt peaceful, freeing and almost unreal. I loved it, love, love, loved it, and I would absolutely experience it again.
The flight lasted approximately an hour. Standing that entire time was manageable, but after a while I did catch myself thinking, “They should really put a couple of little seats in here.” I just wanted to sit down for a minute. But overall, I was comfortable and enjoyed every part of being up there.
As we got closer to landing, the pilot explained that a hot air balloon doesn’t have one exact landing location in the same way an airplane does. The direction depends heavily on the wind, although an experienced pilot can use different altitudes and conditions to predict the most likely landing areas.
At one point, he told us there were two places where we might land. Once we reached a certain area, he said he thought he knew which one it would be and he was right.
He also told us that balloons occasionally come down near people’s properties or backyards, depending on where the wind carries them. That doesn’t happen every time, but it was interesting to realize how different balloon travel is from other types of flying.
We landed near what appeared to be a small airfield, and as we were coming down, a small plane took off nearby. Watching that happen while we were descending in a hot air balloon was another unexpected moment.
I had also watched plenty of dramatic landing videos where the basket hits the ground hard or tips over, so naturally I had prepared myself for that too.
Our landing was nothing like those videos. There was a small thump when we touched down, but it wasn’t rough, and the basket didn’t tip over. It was actually a really smooth landing.
Most of us got out without a problem. The pilot and one passenger were among the last people remaining in the basket.
That passenger had dislocated his shoulder approximately a week or two earlier and had already gotten it put back into place, but the crew hadn’t known about the injury. When he had to climb or lightly jump out of the basket, the movement injured his shoulder again.
Because he needed to have it checked at the hospital, our plans changed. Instead of opening the champagne and celebrating where we landed, we returned to the original starting point where our cars were parked.
Once we returned, we opened the champagne, talked about the experience. It wasn’t the exact ending that had originally been planned, but it was completely fine. Everyone was safe, the passenger could get the medical attention he needed and we still got to celebrate.
Before leaving, I went back inside and made sure to get more of that apple bread because it was too good to leave behind. Yes, I took some home with me.
I also went back for the souvenirs I had been looking at earlier. I bought a hot air balloon pillow, an insulated tumbler, a coffee mug, a wine holder and hot air balloon socks.
I was told that the proceeds supported veterans, which made me feel even better about my purchases. I still use those souvenirs, including the pillow, which I am actually lying on while writing my experience.
After leaving, I stopped at a cute little café for breakfast. I don’t remember the name, but I ordered a caramel iced coffee, hash brown, a bacon, egg and cheese croissant sandwich and a cinnamon roll.
I should have stayed and eaten everything there, but by that point I was exhausted. I had been awake all night, driven out before sunrise and spent an hour standing in the sky. I just wanted to get home.
The cinnamon roll was also extremely sweet, way too sweet for me, so I had to remove some of the icing before I could eat it.
Overall, the entire experience was a 10 out of 10. The staff was amazing, welcoming and clearly knew what they were doing. For $395 I also thought the experience was reasonably priced.
I would absolutely take another hot air balloon ride. What began as one impulsive decision became one of those experiences that reminded me to trust myself, try something new and actually follow through when an idea excites me.
And now, we’ll see where the next adventure takes me.
Comments