For our 20 year anniversary Kefford surprised me with a Hot Air Balloon ride. We had to wait until the end of August because that is when the Boise Hot Air Balloon festival was. I am not a fan of heights at all and was really nervous about the balloon ride but I was willing to face my fears and not worry too much about it. Friday morning Kefford and I went to the park where the balloon festival was held. I was nervous but I was doing ok. When we arrived we checked in and then were able to meet our pilot and his wife. They were both pretty friendly and she told us all about how they got started Hot Air Ballooning. It was always her dream since she was a little girl to own a Hot Air balloon and after she got married her husband caught her dream bug. After a little while of small talk the announcement came over the loudspeakers that they were going to have to cancel the flights for the day because of the weather conditions. It was disappointing but we were told we could come bak the next day which would be much better weather conditions for our ride. They did want to at least blow up the Balloons that Friday morning and we were roped into helping with that which was really cool to see the process.
Their balloon was named "Wild Thing" and they had the name and smile face picture on the bottom of the basket which our Pilots wife was super excited to show us. They also had their little buggy car converted with a Basket in the back to ride in and they had Kefford and I get in and they drove us around the park.
The next morning we went back and this time we took Ryker, Avy and Rylee with us along with Avynlea's friend Rose who stayed the night at our house. They would not be able to go up in the Balloon with us but they wanted to come and watch all of the action. They had fun hanging out in the basket on the back of the buggy while they waited for the liftoff.
When the time came for Kefford and I to go up in the basket I was really scared as I climbed in. I really wanted to back out but I knew I needed to power through and have this experience. I had a death grip on the edge of the basket and I kept my grip there the entire ride. As ridiculous as it sounds it helped me feel more grounded and I felt a little more secure and safe with my hand on the bar. Being up in the air in that Hot Air Balloon was pretty cool and I really enjoyed looking at everything around me. I could not look directly down because that was too scary but I could look out and down.
Our pilot, Skip, did a great job navigating the Hot Air Balloon. He asked us to help watch for the other balloons and especially to keep watch as to what was going on underneath us. Of course I could not do that but Kefford was ok with looking down and under so that was left up to him. We had questions and comments but we could not talk to Skip at all unless it was to let him know a balloon was getting too close, he needed to concentrate on communicating with his ground crew and navigating the balloon in the safest way. I did not want to crash and die so I was ok with leaving him alone. The basket was really small and maybe we could have fit one more person in but it would have been a really tight fit. It was a pretty cold morning but I was pleasantly surprised with how warm it was in the basket under the fire that was filling the Balloon with hot air.
Once we landed the ground crew and our kids found us and then Skip and the crew had to navigate the Balloon to the packing up site. The kids really wanted to ride in the Balloon so they let them hop in for the 2 feet above the ground travel they did to get it to where they could deflate it and get it packed up.
The kids also got to take a ride in the buggy, they thought that was great fun!
After we had finished getting the Balloon packed up and put away the "Wild Thing" flight crew had to initiate us into the club. I guess it is tradition to "haze" anybody who has had their first ride on a Hot Air Balloon. Because Avynlea, Rylee and Rose took a mini flight on the Balloon that counted as a flight and they had to be initiated as well. They had us kneel down on a blanket in the park and after giving us a small glass of Sparking cider, they had wine but we declined, Skip recited an Irish Hot Air Balloon prayer. Once that was done we had to pick up our cups and drink without using our hands. While I was doing this I saw the flight crew gathering in a circle around us very suspiciously so it wasn't a surprise when I got hit with some water. I believe that is the other part of the initiation, you get water thrown on you. I am proud to say that I was the only one to drink all of my cider handless without spilling. It was a great morning and i am really glad I was able to have the courage to experience the Hot Air Balloon but I don't think I will ever do it again, it is just too terrifying for me.
