Up, Up, and Away!

Posted by Donna on September 21, 2009

21 September 2009 – Day 3

Did I mention yesterday that my mother and I had big plans for today? I did, didn’t I?

Here’s what we did…

We arrived at the lift-off site (which was just about 100 yards up the street from where we stayed) at about 6:20 a.m. By 6:30 a.m. we were in the balloon and up in the air. Words cannot describe the experience, but I’ll do my best.

First, neither my mother nor I really knew what to expect. One thing we did expect was some kind of “doorway” into the basket. Guess what? There’s no doorway. Makes sense, as Lucas the pilot explained, “One less thing to worry about.” So with a foot in a stirrup like hole in the basket, we had to heave ho over the edge of it. None of us did a face plant, so I’d say we were successful. Wouldn’t you?

There were five of us in the basket. A couple from Maryland who were there to celebrate her 50th birthday, my mother and I and the pilot, Lucas. We had met the couple (Karen and Ken) last night at the Inn. They were very nice.

In fact, when I told Karen my camera was giving me grief (more on that later), she said she’d take pictures of the balloon ride and e-mail them to me. How nice was that?

Anyway… back to the ride… here’s how it works… the pilot takes us on the ride and Phil drives the van and trailer around the county to haul our butts back after we land. He’s called the “Chaser” for a reason.

Lift-off was so smooth… but let me digress for a moment… you’ve seen hot air balloons before, right? They’re huge! Ginormous even, right? When we arrived at the lift-off site just before 6:30 a.m. the balloon was stretched out across the field and they were just starting to fill it. It was huger than huge! Looks bigger on the ground than it does in the air! Okay, maybe not, but it was huge huge huge! The opening to the base of the balloon is big enough for people to stand in while its being filled.

Okay… lift-off… smooth. It was still dark out with a few tinges of pink and red along the horizon. There was hardly any sensation of movement. We went up, up, up. Can’t quite say we went “away” because it never felt like we were moving.

Another surprise was that it wasn’t cold. Wasn’t even chilly. My mother and I had on sweat shirts and were fine. We didn’t feel the wind (with a few exceptions that I’ll explain in a minute) because the balloon is moving at the same speed as the wind. The exception was when we went up or down to catch a different air pattern. That’s the only time we felt the wind or movement because we were actually slowing down and then changing directions.

The fields and farms in Amish Country are just like the postcards. They look like patchwork quilts of browns, yellows, and greens.

From high up (just over 1 mile) we could see for miles and miles. There were clouds and mist in the valleys. It was gorgeous… One section of sky looked just like ocean waves. I half expected to cloud surfers! Perhaps that’s what we were.

As we dropped a bit lower we could see cars on the road, Amish people riding bikes and in carriages. People (Amish, Mennonite, and “regular” folks) stopped what they were doing to watch us fly by. They waved and dogs barked. When Lucas ignited the flame horses and goats broke into a run. Cows just looked at us. It reminded me of all the times I’ve seen balloons and I’ve stopped to watch them drift past. I always wanted to be in the basket. Today I was.

We passed over Amish schoolhouses. Lucas pointed out that the small buildings behind the schools. Outhouses. Amish don’t believe in indoor plumbing. Another woman later in the day called them “Summer Houses” (Some ‘er her outhouses… and some ‘er his outhouses).

We saw farms with windmills (that are used to pump water from the wells), silos, and huge barns. Learned later that the farmhouses grow and grow as families get larger. And unmarried daughters are not called “Old Maids.” They’re called “Leftover Blessings.” ha ha ha

After over an hour in the air and one missed landing attempt… okay, here’s the story on that… we were all set to pull into a small grassy area beside a cemetary. Phil, the chaser, was already parked and on the ground ready for us. Lucas started bringing us down… unfortunately, the wind at the surface had different plans for us and started taking us west when we needed to go east. So Lucas had to turn on the flame again, lift us up, and let us enjoy more air time. Nice of him, don’t you think?

About 15 minutes later, we tried again. This time we did manage to land in the grassy area near a parking lot. When we were low enough, Phil grabbed the basket and guided/pushed us up a small incline (Lucas was giving the balloon lift as needed) to the middle of the parking lot. Then he had to maneuver us to a spot that would make a good landing place for the balloon itself as it was lowered.

Our landing spot happened to be a preschool. So the teachers brought the children out to watch and see the balloon. An Amish mother with her three sons came out to watch too.

Now here’s the deal with balloon landings… Balloons can land anywhere. The catch is that if the balloon damages anything the owner has to pay the damages. Reasonable, right? So Lucas tries to find empty fields to land in that are near the road to make it easier to pack and pick up the balloon. Farmers don’t have a problem with him landing in the fields. It’s a bit of excitement for them.

Once we packed up the balloon and basket, Phil drove us back to the lift-off site in Bird in Hand. We drank champagne and/or orange juice. I stuck with the orange juice. But you guessed that, didn’t you?

And that was one of Motherdear and Ronald’s Great Adventures!

Definitely the highlight of the day!

Afterward we ate breakfast at our hotel and checked out of our room. At 11 a.m. we took a 2+ hour bus tour of the area… stopped at a few Amish shops and farms.

We left Bird in Hand at around 2 p.m. Went to Lancaster, PA to buy a new battery and battery charger for my camera. Should be all set to take pictures tomorrow.

Then we drove to Harrisburg, PA. Tomorrow we’ll do some things at Hershey World (not the amusement park though) and tour Gettysburg National Park.

Not sure if we’ll spend another night here in Harrisburg or start driving south toward the mountains. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

But for now… I’m tired of typing and you’re probably tired of reading this.

Hugs,

–Donna

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