The formatting of this entry got all screwed up and I have fixed it by editing the HTML. I feel like I have just crossed a threshold in my computer-using life.
Yesterday Yev and I went on a hot air balloon ride in Napa Valley at sunrise to commemorate my quarter-century birthday. Along the lines of my previous entry about travel making me appreciate things more, even when I'm home- I realized that I still haven't done many of the things that California has to offer. And so I decided that I wanted to do one of those very 'California'(and, I admit, yuppie) things, and take a balloon ride over Napa.
We awoke at 4am to roll out of bed and drive to Napa from Palo Alto (about an hour and a half drive) in order to be there by 5:30am. Amazingly, we did it and in the wee hours of the morning found ourselves in a vineyard , standing next to an enormous balloon with a little bitty basket big enough to barely fit our 6 passengers and one captain. The basket was a bit smaller than we anticipated, and even though the basket was definitely small enough for us to be able to fall out if we so chose, it still turned out to be a lot less scary than I expected. We leisurely floated up and around between 10-400 feet above the ground, and my favorite part was when we were just 20-20 feet off the ground (we felt like we were going the fastest then).
To get a hot air balloon up, they basically blow up at 125ft balloon with a big tank of fiery fuel and then you float up slowly. You depend on the wind to move you, much like a sail boat, so if there isn't any wind, you might just float in the same place. Luckily it was a clear, slightly windy day which made for perfect conditions. The balloon can't stay aloft on its own, and so every time we started veering down (sometimes only 10-15 feet above the ground), our captain with the handle-bar mustache, Russ, whose name I know because it was imprinted in big letters on his belt, would pull the string and set the fuel ablaze to get the balloon back up and to avoid a showdown with the not-too-pleased vineyard owners.
We were joined on the trip by a couple on their honeymoon from Seattle who didn't say a single word the entire time, and a girl and her brother in their mid-20's, who I will call Jenny and Bobby (not their real names) from the Napa Valley who were there for Bobby's birthday. Bobby had special needs, and brought that sense of innocence to the conversation that tends to come from children. He kept asking Russ if he was from Texas because of Russ's cowboy demeanor (and handlebar mustache...very astute of Bobby, I think).
It turns out Russ wasn't from Texas, but does work on a ranch in Northern California as his 'day job.' Bobby asked Russ about being from Texas about every 10 minutes, every time Russ spoke, I think, and it became hard not to laugh. Jenny would then have to shout 'No, Bobby, he's not from Texas' because Bobby had to take his hearing aid out because the blow torch used to keep the balloon up was so loud. We were finished by 8am, and after getting 4 hours of sleep the night before, I was about ready for a nap. It's amazing how long your day is when you wake up that early, and by noon we felt totally jetlagged. Possibly the first time anyone has felt jetlagged after a hot air balloon ride...
The whole thing wasn't as exciting as I expected, but it was very interesting to see how the balloon worked, how it's possible to be 400 feet above the ground in a tiny basket and not be scared, and it was a great way of seeing Napa. All and all, a very California thing to do as my 2 week countdown to my next travels begins.
Yesterday Yev and I went on a hot air balloon ride in Napa Valley at sunrise to commemorate my quarter-century birthday. Along the lines of my previous entry about travel making me appreciate things more, even when I'm home- I realized that I still haven't done many of the things that California has to offer. And so I decided that I wanted to do one of those very 'California'(and, I admit, yuppie) things, and take a balloon ride over Napa.
We awoke at 4am to roll out of bed and drive to Napa from Palo Alto (about an hour and a half drive) in order to be there by 5:30am. Amazingly, we did it and in the wee hours of the morning found ourselves in a vineyard , standing next to an enormous balloon with a little bitty basket big enough to barely fit our 6 passengers and one captain. The basket was a bit smaller than we anticipated, and even though the basket was definitely small enough for us to be able to fall out if we so chose, it still turned out to be a lot less scary than I expected. We leisurely floated up and around between 10-400 feet above the ground, and my favorite part was when we were just 20-20 feet off the ground (we felt like we were going the fastest then).
To get a hot air balloon up, they basically blow up at 125ft balloon with a big tank of fiery fuel and then you float up slowly. You depend on the wind to move you, much like a sail boat, so if there isn't any wind, you might just float in the same place. Luckily it was a clear, slightly windy day which made for perfect conditions. The balloon can't stay aloft on its own, and so every time we started veering down (sometimes only 10-15 feet above the ground), our captain with the handle-bar mustache, Russ, whose name I know because it was imprinted in big letters on his belt, would pull the string and set the fuel ablaze to get the balloon back up and to avoid a showdown with the not-too-pleased vineyard owners.
We were joined on the trip by a couple on their honeymoon from Seattle who didn't say a single word the entire time, and a girl and her brother in their mid-20's, who I will call Jenny and Bobby (not their real names) from the Napa Valley who were there for Bobby's birthday. Bobby had special needs, and brought that sense of innocence to the conversation that tends to come from children. He kept asking Russ if he was from Texas because of Russ's cowboy demeanor (and handlebar mustache...very astute of Bobby, I think).
It turns out Russ wasn't from Texas, but does work on a ranch in Northern California as his 'day job.' Bobby asked Russ about being from Texas about every 10 minutes, every time Russ spoke, I think, and it became hard not to laugh. Jenny would then have to shout 'No, Bobby, he's not from Texas' because Bobby had to take his hearing aid out because the blow torch used to keep the balloon up was so loud. We were finished by 8am, and after getting 4 hours of sleep the night before, I was about ready for a nap. It's amazing how long your day is when you wake up that early, and by noon we felt totally jetlagged. Possibly the first time anyone has felt jetlagged after a hot air balloon ride...
The whole thing wasn't as exciting as I expected, but it was very interesting to see how the balloon worked, how it's possible to be 400 feet above the ground in a tiny basket and not be scared, and it was a great way of seeing Napa. All and all, a very California thing to do as my 2 week countdown to my next travels begins.
Inside the Ballon before we took off
Getting the balloon up with the 'blow torch'
Fellow sunrise ballooners
What's left of the balloon after we packed it up - almost a bean bag chair!
I'd also like to give a shout out to our balloon company at www.NapaValleyDrifters.com. This was waaay less touristy than I expected it to be.
I'd also like to give a shout out to our balloon company at www.NapaValleyDrifters.com. This was waaay less touristy than I expected it to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment