Our Hot Air Balloon Ride!

Sunrise hot air balloon ride over Connecticut

For our birthdays, my mom and I got tickets for a sunset hot air balloon ride. We tried to schedule it in a few times, but each time it got cancelled due to the weather. Finally, I made the executive decision to do an early morning sunrise ride, in hopes that the weather would hold out and we'd be able to do our ride before I left. We got lucky, and had chose a perfect Autumn day in October.

So my mom and I got dressed in extra warm layers, and left the house before 6am for the dark drive north to the launch site. We arrived 20 minutes before sunrise and to our surprise, were asked to help the crew of local churchgoer volunteers set up!

Sunrise from the balloon

With the experienced pilot and one other couple, we hopped into the tiny basket, were told to wrap our arms around one of the 4 posts and to hold on! The balloon lifted off the ground and we soared above the trees as the sun was rising in the sky. The group of volunteers jumped into their cars, and become 'balloon chasers,' driving around on the ground chasing our balloon in the sky in order to be there whenever we landed, wherever the wind took us.

Looking down at a lake and treetops

We had spectacular views of the New England foliage, and our hour long flight took us both high up in the air, and sometimes even low enough to touch the tree tops. We flew over Lake Compounce, one of America's oldest amusement parks, and saw the old, historic, wooden roller coasters and all the modern ones as well. The edge of the basket was about at my waist, and I was nervous that if I leaned over too much, I'd just fall out. There were no problems though, even as we awkwardly switched places and moved about the cramped basket.

 

It was an incredibly exhilarating experience, floating above the sleepy little towns, as the sky got lighter, and the wind took us in whichever direction it wished. We had views out for miles and on the horizon we saw the surrounding cities in the distance. It wasn't too much of an adrenaline rush, but it was peaceful and lovely, and the view was spectacular.

Amy on board

We finally started to lose altitude, and our balloon started to float down over a golf course! Golfers below were baffled and intrigued and took photos of us coming down, and then ran over to tell us that a tournament was going on and we'd have to leave ASAP! So one of the guests on board our balloon was asked to 'walk the balloon'. We didn't know what this meant, but he jumped out, took hold of a rope and pulled us off the fairway.

'walking' the balloon off the golf course

We had to help pack the balloon back up, as it took the volunteers forever to find us. They finally arrived, got the gear on the back of the truck, and drove us back to our cars, which was four towns over, where we started. Once we were there, they offered us champagne, cheese, crackers and cookies and we all talked about the ride and how beautiful a morning it was. To be able to fulfill my mother's dream of hot air ballooning, and share the experience with her was the best part of all. 

Me and my mommy