A Hot Idea to Change Your Perspective!

I had wrung my hands as my fiancé’s birthday approached, not knowing what in the world to get for him.  I decided to surprise him with a hot air balloon ride!

I purchased passage for two on a sunset flight in Woodinville, Washington. The tickets were a little pricey at $175 apiece but worth it!  The company (Over the Rainbow Balloon Flights) offered two flight times per day, sunrise and sunset.  (I believe their sunrise pricing is less expensive.)

Two balloons were scheduled for a sunset flight and each balloon could accommodate eight passengers plus its pilot.  The ballooning staff met us at a little restaurant in Woodinville, loaded us into two vans (one per balloon, each van towing its balloon) and transported us to the field of a nearby school which was to be our launch site.

Once the balloon was filled, they had everyone climb up into the wicker basket (it’s highly recommended that you dress appropriately: closed-toed shoes, flat heals and pants or shorts).  This was not necessarily the easiest of tasks and it was one that had to be done quickly or the balloon could start to launch without you!  The second balloon had gotten airborne before us and we loosely trailed it throughout the trip.  This made for some great photo opportunities!

We soared right above the very tips of the trees in this wonderful silence! It was thrilling! We could feel the cool rush of air coming up out of the forests, which was wonderfully welcomed as the temperature in the basket can get rather warm with the repeated firing of the burner to heat the air. (A hat would be helpful, especially if you’re tall but draw the short straw and have to stand next to the burner!)

We floated amazingly low over the tops of beautiful homes in the area.  Some residents seemed to congregate outside their homes specifically to watch the balloons pass.  They waved up at us and some yelled out hellos.  One homeowner looked up, however, with a seeming absence of enthusiasm for the close proximity of our balloon to his rooftop!  Perhaps that route is a little too well flown for some resident's tastes.

We had 360 degrees of breathtaking vistas.  As we floated along, we startled some grazing horses.  In a burst, they all sprinted in different directions as our shadow encroached upon their pasture.  We saw several beautiful lakes, one of which we floated directly over, seeing our reflection mirrored in the glassy water below.  The view of Mt. Rainier was spectacular. 

Periodic burner blasts aside, the silence really enabled us to so deeply enjoy what we were experiencing.  No other means of travel offers such tranquility, such quiet. There was no engine noise, no jostling impact with the land or sea being traveled over, no speed of movement that drove the wind to whip at our heads, and no noisy din of passengers voices to drown out.  It was heavenly.

We saw the second balloon approaching a big green field.  Our pilot became a little frantic that he couldn’t maneuver our balloon to the same field.  Apparently that was the spot they generally liked to use for their landings.  We had somehow drifted a bit too far east.  As we flew on past the field, we could see the other balloon floating downward to a gentle landing.  Under pressure, still floating too far east, our pilot discarded another possible landing site or two.  His third choice was manageable: a quarry.

We had a rather unceremonious landing in the quarry that actually was a wee bit frightening!  Our pilot nervously instructed us to hunker down inside the basket, hold on tight and put our backs toward the hill of dirt we were about to hit!  The impact was mild enough, no teeth were really rattled, and the pilot appeared to be thrilled that the basket didn’t dump over! (So were we!!)

Our flight time was about an hour and a half.  The landing crew had been following our balloon and communicating via radio with the pilot regarding landing logistics.  Shortly after touch down, the crew appeared and folded up the balloon (dirty from lying empty on the quarry floor now) and packed it back in the trailer.  We all piled into the van for transport back to the original restaurant.

I was expecting that the company would have a little spread put out with appetizers, etc, but was very pleasantly surprised to find that they had an actual sit-down dinner waiting at the little restaurant. We had a choice from two entrees complete with a very nice wine—perfect!  The passengers from the second balloon were already nearly done with their dinners and couldn’t wait to hear all about our additional adventure!

The dinner was superb, the trip was spectacular and we came away with unforgettable memories!  My fiancé was so surprised and enjoyed it so much that we talked about it for weeks afterward.  In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we’re looking into other places we can experience by balloon.  It was an experience I’d highly recommend!

If you’d like to check out Over the Rainbow’s web site, click here: link