UP!

What a fun day! One of my sister Carol's "bucket list" items has always been to go up in a hot air balloon, and this year for her birthday, her daughters gave her a gift certificate to do just that. And lucky me, I was invited to go along.

Our day started way before the sun even thought about waking up. Shortly before 5AM we were driving south on Hwy 15 towards Temecula, heading to our meeting place at the South Coast Winery by 6AM. Do you know how dark it is at 5:00 in the morning? We arrived in plenty of time, checked in, and very soon we and our fellow travelers were loaded in a van and being driven here and there while the crew was testing the wind direction and velocity with helium balloons. Finally they decided on the perfect launch place and we were off.

Looking for an adventure? - Call these people!

Once we arrived at the "perfect" spot, the basket and balloon were unloaded from the trailer and the set-up process began.

The basket had a Happy Birthday banner -
how cool is that?

The crew spread tarps over a large area and the basket was laid on it's side.
The inside of the basket is divided into 5 compartments -
four around the outside to hold 3 people each
and one in the center for the pilot

The crew attached the balloon to the basket and
then stretched it out on top of the tarps

Now it's time to start inflating

Large fans are used to blow cold air into the balloon envelope to open it

As the balloon inflates, the crew keeps stretching it out until it is fully open

Then they turn on the propane burner to heat the air

which causes the balloon to rise and set the basket upright

Next came the process of getting all of us inside that basket. I have to tell you, climbing in and out of the basket is the scariest and most challenging part of the entire experience. There is NO graceful or lady-like way to do it! It's just plain awkward! There are a couple little holes on the side of the basket that you are to use like climbing a ladder. Sounds simple, right? But then you have to swing your leg up and somehow hurl your body over the side and into this very small compartment without knocking out the person who just climbed in ahead of you. And if you're short legged like me . . . well, it's quite comical to say the least. And you will notice that there are NO pictures taken during this procedure! But we all made it safely inside!

Ready for "take off"

In case you are curious like I am, here are some things I found quite interesting about hot air balloons. If you could care less, skip this paragraph and scroll on down to the rest of the photos. A hot air balloon costs around $10,000.00 - not a small investment! The balloon "envelope" as it is called is made out of material similar to a parachute, but about twice as thick. So it's quite durable. And it's also HUGE - from the bottom of the basket to the top of the balloon is equivalent to a ten-story building - over 100 feet tall! When you see them floating along in the air, they sure don't look that big. A hot air balloon is actually a very impractical method of transportation - you can't really steer it, and it only travels as fast as the wind blows. The pilot can rotate the balloon somewhat, and can control it vertically by adding more heat if he wants to go higher, or releasing some of the air if he wants to go lower. Check out the next photo . . .

Looking straight up into the balloon

Notice the two little brown vertical stripes at the bottom of the yellow section? That is actually a vent that the pilot can open to release some of the air. It looks small in the photo, but in reality, you could drive a Mack truck through that opening! (If you click on the photo - maybe click twice - you'll be able to see the vent better.) Also, look at the black circle in the center, which is the very top of the balloon.

Now check out this photo.
Notice that the black area in the very top of the balloon has gotten smaller.
The pilot can pull a cord that opens this area to release the air.
You probably don't want him to do that until you are safely on the ground!
This is how they start deflating the balloon at the end of the journey.

Now back to our adventure . . .

We have lift-off

Looking back down at our launching site,
the floating clouds really added to our day.


Temecula's wine country

Check out Carol's ear-to-ear grin! Think she's having fun?


We both were!

I want to take another break here to tell you a little about our pilot. His name is Farrell, and he is a very interesting guy and looked to me like he had just stepped out of the Australian outback, but without the accent.

Our Pilot, Farrell

He has been flying balloons for some 25 years all over the world. One of our fellow travelers asked him what his most memorable balloon experience had been. Farrell answered that it was when he was flying balloons over the Serengeti in Africa, and the experience unfolded over a span of 4 days. The pilots fly balloons every day over approximately the same area, but with a different group of passengers each time. On this one particular day, he spotted a pride of lions circling and watching a herd of wildebeest. The next day, one of the lions was on the back of one of the wildebeests, taking it down for the kill. On the third day, he watched as the lions were happily enjoying their feast. And on the fourth day, the pride was still surrounding the carcass, protecting it from other predators and scavengers. For the passengers, to see what was happening on any one of those days would be an awesome once-in-a-lifetime experience, but to see the entire thing take place from start to finish had to be amazing. Nature at it's best (or worst in the case of the poor wildebeest) and the survival of the fittest in action. Wow!

After hearing this story, one of the ladies in our group revealed that she had been born in Kenya and had lived there until she was 11. Then one of the men said that he had lived in Tanzania for a few years, teaching math and Bible classes. Soon these two were happily conversing in Swahili. What a small world we live in!


Now back to the photos . . .

we were floating over vineyards and citrus groves

More balloons being readied for launch -
See how small they look? Remember, they are 100 ft high.

Farrell turned on the burner and took us higher

and soon we were inside the cloud

Higher still . . . and as we broke through the top of the cloud,
it was as if we were peeking into heaven

So pretty!

As the balloon revolved and the sun was behind us,
we looked down to see our balloon reflected on the surface of the cloud.

Farrell lowered us back through the cloud . . . and we spotted . . .

some of our fellow "balloonatics" drifting along
(a term of endearment for hot air balloon enthusiasts)

We floated over these perfect rows of citrus trees

and Farrell lowered us down to where we were all but touching the tree tops.

He says he bounces along the tree tops as landing practice.

I wonder if he's ever had to actually land on them?!

Another interesting observation (at least to me) . . . Every tree is exactly the same height. Apparently they somehow shear the tree tops off - I would like to see what type of machinery is used to do that.

We were so close to the tree tops that we disturbed two mother owls who were sitting on their nests . . .

Click on this picture to see the eggs in the nest (dead center)
The other nest had not only eggs but a few brand new hatchlings -
little bundles of white fluff.

The sun tucked itself behind a cloud as we passed by more balloonatics . . .

Mount Palomar is somewhere under the clouds in the distance

Lake Skinner

Rancho California Road through the wine country

We were up in the air for approximately an hour. In case you are thinking we are completely nuts to go up in a hot air balloon, or maybe you're thinking you might like to try it but are somewhat apprehensive about the whole idea, let me assure you that it is not scary at all - even if you are afraid of heights (except for that getting in and out of the basket part). The basket is quite high and you feel very safe and protected. The balloon just drifts slowly along with the wind, floating really, and it's smooth and quiet and very calm. You will be amazed at how quiet it is. The only sound, besides the conversation of the passengers and the pilot, is the burner, and it's only turned on for a minute every now and again. Other than that, it's totally silent and serene and magical.

All too soon, Farrell was on his two-way radio contacting his ground crew and directing them to the spot he had chosen for our landing. The ground crew follows along on the road as much as possible, and then pulls over and parks until given further instructions from the pilot.

Farrell then directed us passengers to hold on tight to the little rope handles inside the basket, to bend our knees, and to be prepared to be jarred and jostled as the basket hits and bounces along the surface of the ground before coming to a stop. Yeah, right. I've been on two balloon rides before (one in Australia, the other in Sedona, AZ), and was told the same thing on each flight. And just as before, our pilot set that basket down as gently as a mother places her baby into the crib. We hardly knew we had touched down. Soft!

As soon as we're down, the ground crew springs into action . . .

spreading the tarps out to protect the balloon envelope from any rocks or sharp branches

Farrell pulls the cord which opens the top to let the air out and the balloon slowly deflates and drifts down to the ground

The crew walks along the balloon, squeezing the envelope and forcing the air out the top.

Farrell the balloon wrangler

When all the air is out, the balloon is disconnected from the basket

the crew folds and stuffs it back into it's container

where it's stored until the next flight.

At this point, we were told to hop back in the van, and leaving the crew behind to finish up, we headed back to the winery for breakfast.

We were offered some yummy bread and butter, fresh fruit, and orange juice and champagne

And all the birthdays were celebrated with chocolate cake
(after we sang Happy Birthday the traditional way, the gal in the center with the scarf rocked her own version - awesome!)

Happy Birthday Carol
What a great way to end your 3 months of celebrating
(her actual birthday was in January!)

So this was supposed to be one thing checked off Carol's bucket list. But she says she's going to leave it on a little longer - she wants to do it again! Don't forget me!