Hot Air Ballooning in the California Wine Country

One recent Friday afternoon we began a great adventure. We searched the Internet for "wine country ballooning," and came up with the name of a company in the California Wine Country. Just after lunch, we departed San Francisco and arrived at our destination a pleasant four hour drive later. After checking into our hotel, we called our chosen carrier to get details on where and when to meet for our first hot air balloon ride in the sunny wine country.

The next morning at 6 a.m., our FAA "licensed commercial balloon pilot" (really, that is his rating) met us at the designated location on the outskirts of town. His white van was pulling a brightly colored trailer that housed one gigantic balloon, and one large woven basket, -and all the sundry equipment necessary to get us into the wide blue yonder.

Our pilot's name was Vance and he immediately won us over with his enthusiasm and animated description of the morning's event. He also introduced us to the two other couples booked on the same flight.

Gathering the group into a semi-circle, Captain Vance began his pre-flight briefing: "First, we will all board the company van, and drive until we find a suitable launch site. Sometimes it is possible to launch right from where we are standing, but not today."

A balloon pilot must select a launch site that will allow him/her to guide the balloon in the general direction of a good landing zone. However, the landing site may change several times during flight to accommodate shifts in the prevailing breeze.

Within a few minutes of our orientation, we were bouncing along in the van, balloon in tow, looking for a launch site. Our pilot/driver stopped on three occasions before selecting just the right spot, -which turned out to be a large pasture.

We all jumped from the van, and the ground crew immediately began to unload the trailer. First, out came the balloon, which the ground assistants gently unfolded onto a tarp.