go for a ride in a hotair ballon

How I did it: First of all save up some money.  Unless you have a friend who owns a hot air balloon, it will probably cost you a little bit to ride.

On my honeymoon we went to Colorado, mainly because it was within driving distance since we didn't have a whole lot of money for travel.  My sister gave us a stay in a condo using their timeshare, we only had to pay upkeep cost and banking cost since they normally go to Branson.  We've never been on a "real" vacation that we have to plan on our own so we had no idea what to do.  Luckily the condo had a concierge service.

We spent a little while looking at all the different activities and show that were in the area, we took our choices to the concierge and they scheduled everything to fit in our day.  It was pretty simple.

Of course, since this is the hot air balloon goal that I've done, I should specify that this was the most expensive activity of our trip.  It may have been over priced, I don't know, but for some reason $400 is sticking in my head.  I think that was the price for both of us together.  I can't see us doing it for $400 each...but if I wanted it bad enough...

Lessons & tips: Lesson #1: Just because you have the ride scheduled, doesn't mean it will happen.  The weather has to be just right, and if it's not, the ride will be canceled.  This originally happened to us.  I was devastated. But I found out that they were having another ride on the day we were leaving town, so we rescheuled for then and kept our fingers crossed.  Of course everything worked out, or I wouldn't be writing this :)

Lesson #2: Keep in mind the type of ride you want.  We were up in the mountains.  Based on the type of air currents there, our ride took us straight up and the "pilot" was able to take us around the general area we went up in by rising and lowering the balloon to match the currents.  Then we came down again in the same general area.  In a more flat land area, such as Nebraska or Kansas, when you go up, you'll probably take a linear flight.  Keep this in mind, and ask questions when you call to schedule.

Lesson #3: Balloons don't come crashing to the ground from way up high.  At least this is what we were told.  Say a goose is blind and flies into the balloon poking a hole in it.  The balloon will slowly lose air and drift to the ground, probably with a little rougher landing than normal.  However, we were also told, that if one hot air balloon bumps into another (or some similar situation) then it could be possible to have it crash down a bit faster.  I don't know all the dynamics and physics of this, but above all, a hot air balloon is the safest form of air travel. (I'd rather not test this out, but I'll take our pilots word for this)

Lesson #4: Be ready for a crash landing.  Balloons go up so smoothly you have no idea you've left the ground until you look down.  It's amazing.  However balloons are not equipped with landing gear like an airplane.  While the landing won't really be a crash, it will be pretty rough.  You don't just gently drift back to the ground, you have to brace yourself just a little.

Lesson #5: As we were taught on our journey: every successful balloon flight is toasted and celebrated at the end with champaign.  Since we went up in the morning mimosas were a popular drink and people who don't drink (such as kids or people who just don't drink alcohol) were served juice.  This is a good thing to keep in mind if you are just recovering and are trying to avoid being near alcohol.  Again, a good question to ask when you schedule.

Resources: The group that took us up was Camelot Balloons: http://www.camelotballoons.com

Merlin was our pilot and it was an exceptional flight.  To anyone in the Vail, CO area I highly recommend this company!!

Enclosed picture is actually our balloon up in the air.  Professional photos were taken from the ground and we had the option to purchase rights...which we couldn't turn down!

Feb 07, 2009, 05:18PM PST | 2 comments | 2 cheers