Floating in a balloon takes quite a bit of prep.  You have to lay the balloon out, get it unwrapped, use a fan to start inflating the balloon before you ever turn on the heat. Once the balloon is upright you add some heat from propane burners that give it lift.  Simple enough?

Let's forget all the technical stuff and just talk about floating hundreds of feet in the air.  It's one of the most peaceful experiences you will ever have. Yes there is noise from the burners and street, but it still is peaceful.  Dogs hate balloons and bark like mad, until you bark back at which point they go running for shelter.

loading...

From 500ft everything looks like a play set, the cars look like Matchbox, the houses like the ones from a train set, even people look different. At some point you have to come down. Now if you don't know the lay of the land that can be hard.  You need an open space without power lines.  We found a cul-de-sac and Ingrid put her balloon down right in the middle of it, we then bounced and went about 15 more feet, where we bounced again, missed a car and flower bed and went snug up to a fence that I grabbed on to and wouldn't let go.

loading...

After we got we spent time talking with the neighbors, taking the balloon down and packing it up, we then went through the first flight ritual. I will explain the whole ritual in the next article (blog).  For now here are pictures taken by Kody Mee who was in his own balloon.

Kevin Mee

More From 107.9 LITE FM