The "Balloon Ride" Story
It was an ordinary day. I was ready for my hot air balloon ride which my wife gave me for Father’s day. For years I said it would be really neat to take a ride in a hot air balloon. Well, figuring I really meant it, she got me a gift certificate for one ride. Today is the day. I travel to Ephrata which is to the north of Lancaster. After parking the car, I walked to the field where the balloon will launch. I have my camera ready for the fantastic day ahead and I start to take photos of the inflation of the balloon. There are 2 balloons and both are very colorful. The basket will hold about 6-8 people, but for this trip there are only 4 paying customers and the pilot. The basket is a square wicker-type material and I immediately notice that the sides of the basket dip down in the middle to about 4 feet while a
t the corners they are about 5 feet tall. As I stand in the middle I realize that if I lean over too far to take a photo, I may not be a member of the basket anymore. We lift off first and the thrill of drifting slowly and noiselessly across the farmland is surreal. The owner’s assistant follows the balloon in his van in case there is any problem. Occasionally the flame heats more air to keep up adrift. I’m not sure what height we are, but I would guess about 1000 feet. As we travel across the terrain, people look up and wave or call out to us. It is so different from land travel or even flying in an airplane. I have taken at least 2 rolls of film by now. All are taken from one of the corners of the basket, since I don’t trust the low sides of the basket in the middle. I prefer to return in the same manner that I started. We are now about to do a touchdown and liftoff which should be interesting. Somewhere in a deserted farming area, along a narrow paved road, we start our descent. The wind is now starting to pick up, but doesn’t seem to concern the pilot. We are just about touching the road, which takes a tremendous amount of skill on the part of the pilot, when an Amish buggy comes down the road. The pilot touches down and just as he fires up the flame to start the liftoff, the horse gets spooked and gallops next to us. Because of the increasing wind, the basket of the balloon scrapes along the side of the road catches on
some brush and starts to tip over. It tips directly over onto the side where the pilot was standing. We all fall onto him and roll out of the basket. The basket continues to be pulled across the field by the half-inflated balloon until the assistant can control it. The pilot lays injured on the side of the road. We help attend to the pilot until the assistant can get the balloon and the basket loaded onto his trailer and then we help the pilot into the van for a return to our starting location. It sure was a fun time and I can hardly wait to do it again! NOT!! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
t the corners they are about 5 feet tall. As I stand in the middle I realize that if I lean over too far to take a photo, I may not be a member of the basket anymore. We lift off first and the thrill of drifting slowly and noiselessly across the farmland is surreal. The owner’s assistant follows the balloon in his van in case there is any problem. Occasionally the flame heats more air to keep up adrift. I’m not sure what height we are, but I would guess about 1000 feet. As we travel across the terrain, people look up and wave or call out to us. It is so different from land travel or even flying in an airplane. I have taken at least 2 rolls of film by now. All are taken from one of the corners of the basket, since I don’t trust the low sides of the basket in the middle. I prefer to return in the same manner that I started. We are now about to do a touchdown and liftoff which should be interesting. Somewhere in a deserted farming area, along a narrow paved road, we start our descent. The wind is now starting to pick up, but doesn’t seem to concern the pilot. We are just about touching the road, which takes a tremendous amount of skill on the part of the pilot, when an Amish buggy comes down the road. The pilot touches down and just as he fires up the flame to start the liftoff, the horse gets spooked and gallops next to us. Because of the increasing wind, the basket of the balloon scrapes along the side of the road catches on
some brush and starts to tip over. It tips directly over onto the side where the pilot was standing. We all fall onto him and roll out of the basket. The basket continues to be pulled across the field by the half-inflated balloon until the assistant can control it. The pilot lays injured on the side of the road. We help attend to the pilot until the assistant can get the balloon and the basket loaded onto his trailer and then we help the pilot into the van for a return to our starting location. It sure was a fun time and I can hardly wait to do it again! NOT!! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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