JD's Dream

[jocose]

The first hot air balloon I was in.

 

[LaFoto]

You rode along with them? Inside the basket? Seeing the world glide past you underneath? In that weather??? Where are your photos? My dream, too! I so wish I could ONCE in my life ride in a hot air balloon. It is sooooo much my dream!

And this is such a wonderful photo. The sky is the perfect backdrop, no disturbances there, and the colours of the balloon set off so nicely from that sky. Simple, very one-subject-only photo, and therefore quite impressive. I like it a lot.

 

[Antarctican]

Great colours, and look at that blue blue sky! The balloon ride must have been quite the adventure.

 

[jocose]

This photo epitomizes serindipity (SP). I took it the day before I knew I was going in a balloon, and long before I knew which balloon I was going to fly in. I do have some pics, but I'm still going through them.

LaFoto and Anty, you should definitely do it. Here in the States, it usually runs about $200 for a flight (unless you can scam your way on like I did), and if you go to a balloon festival and volunteer to crew, so pilots will take you up for free (that's how I did it). I had a great time, and my crew were awesome. They took the traditions of flying very seriously, and that made it even more rewarding.

I have to be honest, though, it was a little anti-climatic. You don't feel any movement, so there's no real rush as you ascend. But when the burner isn't firing (it's really f'ing loud), and you're just floating there, that is pretty amazing. Also, to see the ground below you (we averaged about 1,000 feet off the ground), gently moving below you....well, I understand what JD (she's the one who owns the balloon--thus JD's Dream) meant when she said that it's very serene to calming to fly.

Oh, and thanks for the comments, too