Today we took our hot air balloon ride, and was it ever incredible! Napa Valley was fogged in, so they transported us to the next valley which was primarily agricultural (rather than just grapes), and it was a perfect sunny day for flying around in a wicker basket. I've included a few still pictures, followed by some videos you don't want to miss. Bon voyage!
Ed and Mamaw check out the balloon inflating before our ride.
Our pilot keeps the balloon inflated as we all board. There were 12 of us on this particular flight, but I couldn't take any person shots of us since we were too close to one another. They did take professional shots of us before we took off, so we have copies of those that I can scan in
and post once we get home.
There were several balloons in the area this morning, but, of course, ours was the best!
Here we are flying over Allendale, low enough to see things, but we cruised a lot of the time at 1,000 feet. It was amazing that we never really felt movement. If the wind changed, we felt a little breeze, but only until the balloon's speed became matched to the windspeed.
Look closely and you will see the reflection of our balloon in this irrigation canal. I wasn't sure I got it, but I did. Our pilot said this was a Kodak moment, except for the Japanese tourists and fo them it was a Fiji moment.
Here are a few videos and then there are still shots of the balloon landing.This 1st video is just as we took off and I wasn't too sure what I was doing, but if you'll keep watching, you'll see in the balloon and the flame
This video will give you a good feel of flying gently over the valley.
The next video is us just skimming over a walnut grove. We could actually see the individual leaves and green walnuts. Now you know just what a bird would see.
As we went down, the pilot opened the top of the balloon to let some of the hot air out.
Our pilot kept in constant contact with the chase crew which you see here collapsing the balloon envelope as soon as we landed. Landing was easy--just a hop or two and we were there.
Mamaw is disembarking (or getting disembarked) and thoroughly enjoyed her flight.
Back on terra firma. From here we went back to Napa for a warm brunch with champagne which is a tradition in ballooning. After that we headed into the Russian River Valley for a day of sightseeing, including a tour of the Korbel Champagne Winery. Today it's across the bay to San Francisco.
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