Remember when I said that I was TERRIFIED to go on the hot air balloon ride this week? Yesterday (actually on June 5), my husband and I finally went! Although I am really scared of heights, it seriously wasn't that bad. I was anticipating crazy butterflies, rapid breathing and hypertension but I didn't experience any of that. Ha! Who woulda thought?
To start the day, my husband and I woke up at 3 am to get ready and put the little guy in the car to take him to my mom's. We then headed to Temecula (Wilson Creek Winery to be exact) in excitement for the new experience ahead of us. After "signing our lives away" when we arrived, we all drove out of the parking lot and up the road to get out of the morning fog.
We watched the guys set up the basket and balloon while we took photos and practiced our "landing stance."
Seeing the giant balloon inflated, was actually quite inspiring with its bright colors and rectangular shapes. I couldn't stop taking photos of it!
Once we jumped into the basket and took off the ground, it was pretty cool to see the mountains on the horizon floating on the fog. The highest we went was about 800 feet up and we constantly went up and down with the hills of the valley. We saw lots of quick rabbits, sprinting coyotes, pretty horses and scattering chickens as we floated in the sky. I had a few moments though where I thought we were going to hit rocks but thankfully we coasted right above them.
I wish I could say that being on a hot air balloon ride is quite magical but I'd be lying if I did. Between the crazy amount of heat the fire blower puts out (they don't call it a HOT air balloon ride for nothin'), the loud noise the blower causes (which results in segmented conversations) and the very small space between you and the rest of the 7 others in the basket, it wasn't what I expected. Actually, my favorite part of the whole thing was the crazy landing which flung everyone forward a few times as we skid through brush and almost hit the roof of a house! LOL Never the less, it was still a fun experience that I am happy to say that I've had-and with my wonderful husband.
After we landed, we had mimosas in plastic cups, bagels, cookies and a rugged ride in the basket-on a trailer-to get back to our cars. It was an adventure to say the least. Not to mention we did all of this before 9am! That's when I usually wake up! I feel like I'm missing out on so much now if I don't wake up with the sun.
Here are some photos of the day my husband and I hopped into a floating basket.
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