My mom had always wanted to have a ride in a hot air balloon. This past August, we did, with High Five out of Derry, NH. Here are some of the pictures. Enjoy!
It was a murky morning, but it was our second try, so we gave up a bit of the view to get the ride in.
They use fans to fill the balloon most of the way up.
At the very end, the gas does the rest and we're ready to go.
Quite a crowd! In the basket, there's Tony, our pilot, My mom, my brother Bill, my wife Julie, my daughter Alice and me.
This thing was only a few inches over my head. Warm and LOUD!
Here is my brother Bill.
Here's my mom. Tony kept telling her to "keep it down!" She maintained she was having the time of her life. Just very quietly.
Here I am with my daughter Alice. She enjoyed the flight, except when she thought that we were going to put down in a pond.
The visibility wasn't too bad at all as the sun came up. Sometimes we could see the chase car through the trees on the roads below. I loved the shadow of the balloon trailing along behind us as we headed into the sun.
Here's my mom cutting up with Julie. The landing was great. One bounce and we were stopped. We were all very impressed with High Five and highly recommend them.
Once we landed, it didn't take long to get the balloon all packed up.
The experience ended with a champagne breakfast provided by High Five. Too bad the batteries on my camera ran out. It was a great spread and a great ride. Thanks High Five for a wonderful time.
