No Bucket List for Me

Yesterday my father and I took a hot air balloon ride with The Wicker Basket Balloon Center, and it was such an exhilarating experience.  It was a birthday present for both of us, even though my dad's birthday was in February and mine was in March.

My dad has wanted to fly in a balloon since watching Around the World in 80 Days when he was a kid.  However, watching The Bucket List recently inspired my father to fulfill that dream.  Yesterday he asked me if I had a bucket list, and I told him no, that I never want to have to HAVE a bucket list.  Going up in a hot air balloon seemed like a wonderful idea, so I tagged along.

I was completely fascinated by the entire process - especially the inflation of the balloon:

The pilot is behind a fan.  This FAN blows the balloon up!

I suppose I just thought the crew would turn on the heat and voila!  But it was just an amazing process to view.  As you can see from the above picture, there were other balloons launching from the same open field (which was behind a restaurant).  What a incredible sight!

The balloon design was the author/illustrator, Sandra Boyton Critters, and was the company's small balloon.  My father and I were its only passengers besides the pilot.  I love Boyton and I felt it was very appropriate choice considering I am a true lover of children's literature.

Then came the heat:

Then we got on board - which was quite hilarious.  We each had to straddle the side of the wicker basket - very tricky.  Once we were on, the fire would get "opened" every so often, and it was SUPER hot.  The basket was also quite small.  If you threw up or smelled bad, it would be right there for all to see/smell/experience.  I am happy to report that neither my father, nor I, threw up (nor did we smell bad).

This is the view from inside the balloon looking up

Here is a picture of what our balloon may have looked like from the ground.  This is a photo from the company:

It was a perfectly clear evening.  The pilot shared with us that the horizon is hardly EVER clear 360 degrees.  However, we were lucky enough to view this, as shared in pictures below:

Then it was time for the customary photos to prove you actually went up in the balloon:

My father and I  - I was pretty comfortable at this point.

Time for a "selfie" - I was a bit scared my phone would fall (the basket was super small)

The rest of the flight - which lasted an hour - was just beautiful.  I enjoyed watching people wave at us, and there was one guy who asked if we could drag him along!  

My father took more pictures of the landing and deflation process.  However, the landing was a bit more than I had anticipated.  My left knee (the one that was operated on last February) banged against the basket twice.  It was a little scary - and my knee today is very tender and badly bruised.  However, I will state the truth - I told my mom last night that if I couldn't walk today I didn't care.  It was ALL worth it!

The one thing I could not stop was the song playing in my head the entire time!  Of course, reader, you probably guessed: