“Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?
We could float among the stars together, you and I
For we can fly (we can fly)
Up, up and away
My beautiful
My beautiful balloon
The world’s a nicer place in my beautiful balloon
It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon
We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky
For we can fly (we can fly)”
- 5th Dimension, written by Jimmy Webb (1967)
I never thought you’d ever see me in a hot air balloon. I don’t love heights, and I popped too many balloons as a kid to have a lot of confidence in floating through the air held up only by a balloon. I always got a kick out of blowing up a balloon and then letting it go, and watching it zig and zag and twist and turn until it crash landed- fun with a balloon, but it was all I could picture every time I thought of actually riding in a hot air balloon. But in my “golden years”, I’ve taken a new outlook on life- you only live once, so I’m going to squeeze as much fun and adventure as I can into my remaining years.
This is one of my bucket list items where Eva said “count me out”. She’s not a fan of heights, and her decision was confirmed when the news reported a horrific hot air balloon crash in Brazil killing 8 people right before I decided to book my flight. So I decided to do this one solo. I found an organization in Lancaster (“Lancaster Balloon Rides”) that offered shared rides, so I made my reservation.
Scheduling a hot air balloon flight is tricky- the weather conditions have to be perfect- no rain, and little wind. They only schedule two flights a day- at sunrise and sunset, when the conditions tend to be most favorable. I checked out the long-range forecast, and the morning of July 3 seemed to be the ideal day- 80s, sunny, and little wind. I opted for the 6 AM flight. You have to arrive by 5:30 AM, which meant I had to leave my house at 4:15 AM, after making a 4 AM phone call to confirm the weather conditions were still favorable enough to fly. All systems were go, and I was off on my adventure.
Thinking I would be the oldest person on our flight, I took comfort in seeing there were two 91-year-old women, both celebrating birthdays, who were also going along for the ride. In total, there were 8 passengers. Our pilot was about 30-years-old, and learned to fly from his father when he was 14 years old- he knew his stuff. Their web site noted that their “pilots, all FAA Commercially approved, drug tested, and with more than 10,000 hours of combined experience, are dedicated to their profession setting the standard in safety and passenger service.” I felt like I was in good hands.
Getting on board was a bit of challenge. You had two options- (1) climb up a step ladder and fling your legs over the side to get in the basket, or (2) get in while the basket was still on its side, lay down flat, and when they tilt up the basket you would be standing up. One of the senior ladies opted for the lay-down method; the rest of us climbed in. And it was time for take-off!
We were soon flying over beautiful Lancaster County. It didn’t take long to reach our top height of 5,000 feet (about 1 mile). The views were spectacular. We could see part of the Philadelphia skyline. It was a bit hazy a mile up, but at the lower heights everything was crystal clear. We flew over a lot of Amish farmland, and got many friendly waves along the way. I didn’t realize how much control the pilot has steering the giant balloon. One woman lived in the area, so he flew us directly over her house- like a few feet over her roof. The flight was very calm. The height didn’t bother me too much. The trick is to enjoy the view, don’t look straight down, and don’t think too much about the wicker basket falling apart or catching fire from the extreme heat of the flames. All kidding aside, I felt safe the whole time. And as my new 91-year-old friends said, “If we can do it, anyone can do it!”
As we were nearing the end, we could see our “Lancaster Balloon Rides” van driving the roads trying to follow us. At one point it pulled into a farmer’s driveway thinking that was where we would be landing, but then we kept on going so the van had to turn around and continue their pursuit. We eventually landed gently on a field near a side street. Once again we had two options for getting out. It was a bit more difficult to climb out of the basket than it was to get in, but I didn’t have any trouble. The two senior ladies stayed in and leaned against the side as the crew tilted the basket sideways. There was a bit of a thump as it hit the ground; not too graceful but a staff member held the women’s heads to make sure they didn’t hit the ground as they put the basket on its side, and they made it out OK. After the staff packed up the balloon, we got a ride back to our starting point where we celebrated with a champagne / orange juice toast.
As our pilot explained, the historical tradition of toasting champagne after riding a hot air balloon can trace its roots all the way back to the late 1700s. Back then, operators were flying hot air balloons for the first time. While this was a remarkable achievement, it soon became clear that not everyone had heard of the invention. During that time and through the 18th century, those who had not seen or heard of hot air balloons were scared out of their wits. Many of them thought it was a dragon coming to attack them. Considering that hot air balloons often land on open areas like farms, it was understandable that they viewed it as a real threat, or perhaps a coordinated attack on their families and their livelihood. To resolve this problem, the passengers of one of the first successful hot air balloon flights brought with them a bottle of champagne. Rather than drink it for themselves, they decided that it would be best to give it to the farmers as a peace offering. Eventually, this was done so many times that it became a tradition. That’s why passengers today who disembark a hot air balloon often raise a glass of champagne to show that they haven’t forgotten the tradition.
Thanks to everyone at Lancaster Balloon Rides for a fun adventure!
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