25 August 2001 BALLOON FLIGHT FROM DEL MAR, CA
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Lena
and I had delayed the experience of taking a Balloon ride until we had
something 'special' to celebrate. Anya's visit seemed to be the perfect
reason to book our flight.
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Neither
Dave Seyller nor Sherri had ever been on a balloon before, so we all
decided to make this SUNSET FLIGHT over Del Mar trip a 'joint venture.'
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Watching
the process of inflating the balloon with hot air is very interesting.
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Once
the balloon is almost fully inflated, the ground crew have to hold the
basket down while the passengers climb aboard for the flight.
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Our
particular basket was configured with 4 separate sections into which
as many as 16 people could be stuffed.
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We
were lucky in that our ride only had about 10 or 11 people (plus the
pilot).
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Looking
up into the balloon as the propane burners kick into action is a ‘warming
experience.’
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As
we lifted off, the 2nd balloon was still preparing to get airborn.
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Finally,
balloon number two is almost ready to lift off!
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Dave
Seyller, a long term ex-navy friend dating to 1969 in Japan, used to
be a NFO on surveillance planes. Ballooning was a whole new experience!
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Never
let it be said that wind can totally screw up Steve’s hair...
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Since
this was a sunset flight from Del Mar to Rancho Penasquitos and the
atmosphere was NOT totally clear, our trip photos were not as sharp
as we would have preferred.
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Our
two balloons were joined by about 10 other balloons which had been launched
at different locations around Del Mar.
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Our
flight path crossed many of the new housing construction sites where
homes costing from $700K to well over a million dollars are being built.
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Some
of these new homes are HUGE and range in size from 3,000-6,500 square
feet. Steve would not even be able to pay the yearly real estate TAXES
on these monsters!
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As
we neared the end of the approximately one hour flight, the setting
sun did provide some nice coloration to these photos.
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To
say that Anya (and us) really enjoyed this adventure is a mild understatement.
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It
was really almost dark when we approached the landing field.
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After
we landed, the ground crew used our camera to take our photo while the
balloon pilot released some propane into the burner which illuminated
the basket.
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Prior
to the flight, we had all enjoyed a great CHINESE meal at the Mandarin
Garden restaurant in Mira Mesa. For Anya, this was her FIRST taste of
Chinese food!
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