My father has a hot air balloon. Yeah, it’s one of his many aviation toys. So Gary and I finally got t0 go for a ride. Sunny and warm and gorgeous, but there was very little wind, so we didn’t go far but we got some really nice pictures.
It’s funny how there were three of us in the balloon and we each saw different things. I looked in the distance at the hills and tried to determine if those to the west were the Uwharries and which of the hills to the east was Oconeechee. Gary’s looking below us at fancy ballpark style grass cutting designs, small farms with beehives and truly free range chickens. My Dad points out all of the airports that could possibly, maybe be in view at 3500 feet over Silk Hope. Later conversations about what we saw had my brother (he was a spotter for this trip) asking if we went on the same balloon ride.
The best part was all the attention we received. A couple of cars pulled off the road with cameras to take pictures of us take off and you should see how excited people get when we come in for a landing near their house! I had such a blast waving and calling out greetings to the people coming out of their homes to watch us.
We landed on the smallest patch of grass next to someone’s driveway. We were floating in and missed the bigger field while the entire family watched from their back porch. My Dad calls out, “Can we land in your yard?” The reply was an enthusiastic “Yeah!” The looks on the kids’ faces was priceless, especially the boy Nathan, whose face lit up like crazy. Three of the kids rode in the balloon while they tethered it over the fences to the road where the balloon could be laid down and packed up. Those three will have some stories to tell at school this week!
So cool. What a great way to spend a nice day. My grandfather used to have a helicopter and the whole neighborhood would turn out whenever he landed it in our background. We thought we were the coolest things ever when he came over so I’m sure those little kids are still excited about their balloon experience.
I am very scared of heights so I consider you brave to go up in the balloon! I remember as a little kid running outside to watch hot air balloons and secretly hoping they would land in our yard. I am sure that you made those kids’ day.