THIS CALLS FOR SOME CHAMPAGNE ... BIRTHDAY SURPRISE TAKE 3

well the day finally happened ... j and n took an amazing hot air balloon ride over the city :)

not bad almost 2 years later, numerous cancellations by phone and 2 unsuccessful trips out to the launch site and the birthday surprise for n was finally accomplished. it truly was an amazing experience to float across the sky wherever the wind blows. it was such a peaceful trip and i must say we really did get to see the best parts of our city ... floating alongside the river really is the best views our little city has to offer ... so without further adieu i hope you enjoy a tiny glimpse of our adventure

j eagerly volunteered to hold the balloon open while the fans did their job

working with our pilot lee

he has been flying hot air balloons for 27 years and

had even flown all the way across canada!

getting so close ...

but to be totally honest j and n were just a little bit skeptical because we have gotten to this point before

hanging loose before the trip

(anyone who knows j knows that this is his favorite way to pose for pictures)

ooh haven't seen this happen before ... getting ready to tip the basket upright and climb aboard

we are in the basket and ready for takeoff!

very gently and slowly leaving the ground

across the river

over hawrelak park

we even got to float right over uofa our alma mater

the other balloon that went up with us

uofa

along the river valley ... legislature and high level bridge in view :)

telus field and downtown

even a view of the muttart conservatory pyramids

the wind blew us east beside the oil refinery

and we landed gently in a canola field

we all packed up the balloon and toasted our safe return to the earth with champagne

truly a fantastic flight ... thanks j ... glad to cross something else off my life list of things and adventures to experience

cheers ~n

SO CLOSE ... BIRTHDAY SURPRISE ... TAKE #2

so last year j surprised n with a hot air balloon ride for her birthday ... how romantic ... and we were so close to going but a nasty cloud covered swooped right in and shut that down pretty quickly ... so we decided to wait until the spring/summer to go again ... i mean who really wants to go up in the freezing air in an open basket in the middle of an alberta winter anyways

well today was supposed to be that day ... checked the weather ... gorgeous sunny not a cloud in the sky ... so at 5:30 am we got the phone call giving us the go ahead to drag our sleepy selves down to the launch site ... well i will let the pictures do the talking

6:06 am ready with tickets to catch our ride across the cityscape

pulling into the launch site ...

see absolutely gorgeous

unloading the balloon ...

see the competition in the background ...

they arrived 30 minutes before we did

still setting up and off they go

balloon stretched out, basket attached and ready to inflate

an inflating rainbow

holding steady to fill with all that air

and it just keeps getting bigger

j plus n ready for a hot air balloon ride

i think we are good to go

nope ... a gust of wind swoops in and covers the basket and vehicle

go j ... keep holding on

(side note ... the 1 crew member was holding the rope and the wind pulled him down and he was sliding across the field holding onto the rope for dear life ... j stepped in and helped hold the balloon down ... my hero)

unhooking the balloon from the basket

one of the burners caught the balloon and ripped a gigantic hole ... so it's a no go :(

time to deflated the balloon and pack up and try again

cheers ~n

update ... so we tried 2 more times since and have been unsuccessful in our attempts ... first time the west end of the city had a huge rain storm that night and soaked the launch site and the second time it was too cloudy ... next try will be august 10 ... take #5

BIRTHDAY SURPRISE ... TAKE #1

n loves the fall because the leaves change color, pumpkin spice lattes are being made, the air gets crisper and that means layering clothes and wearing jackets (anyone who knows me knows that i love jackets). fall is also n's birthday and in both j and n's opinion it is the best time for a birthday

well n turned 29 this september and she wasn't sure what j's surprise was this year for her birthday even though for the whole year he'd been saying that he'd been waiting a whole year to give n her present. apparently j had this idea the day after n's birthday last year

well n was surprised with a hot air balloon ride over the city and she had to wait a month for the flight. so exciting and definitely one of the things on her life's list of things to do or accomplish

how sweet and thoughtful and so perfectly wonderful :)

so this morning we got the phone call at 6:40 am that we would be taking off from the ground for a bit at 8 am. we got ready and hurried ourselves to the meeting spot, were given our instructions and watched as they inflated the balloon in the field.

while they were inflating the balloon a few other couples were talking and asked us "so how many times have you tried to take your flight?" puzzled we replied "oh this is our first time" and much to our surprise they proceeded to tell us that for 4 of them this was their 8th attempt in 2 years and another couple this was their 15th attempt in 3 years! we looked at each other and both whispered to each other "i never really thought we wouldn't go today"

so not even 30 seconds after this conversation the guy in charge states "i regret to inform you that air traffic control just phoned and a low cloud cover is rolling in and planes flying in the area won't be able to see us so the flight is cancelled

well here is proof of our first attempt at a hot air balloon ride, we at least got to see it being inflated and then deflated and then we got to help put the balloon back and pack up the trailer

n hopes there aren't too many more times like this although it was super cool to see the balloon getting ready and j and n got a bottle of champagne ... so happy birthday and we can't wait to try again someday

so without further adieu some pics of our almost flight:

and so it began, i guess barely started and then went right back to packing up

so close

cheers ~n