Someone remembered our Un-Anniversary...

Juliet was born on our anniversary, June 17th.  Ever since then, Merril and I have put our anniversary on the back burner.  Lately the anniversary of the day we first met, December 18th, has become a day that we celebrate together.  This year, Merril totally surprised me with a hot air balloon ride for our un-anniversary.  To be honest, I'd kind of forgotten the date this year!  

The weather wasn't right on the 18th so on Friday, the 19th, we arrived at a house in Washington Fields for our ride.  We were told to dress warmly and be ready to work.  First the balloon and basket are laid sideways and big fans inflate it.

Two fans were used but we were told it can be done with one.

After it's filled with air from the fans, which didn't take that long, the pilot chirps the burner a few times and the balloon starts to rise.

Once it's upright, the pilot says "jump in" and away we went!

It was pretty amazing!

At first we flew quite high and I was thinking I should have a harness to keep me in the basket.  The sides of the basket were lower than my rear end, to make it easier to jump in and out of.  I found it to be a little low and so stayed in the corners, where the basket came up higher.

Hardly any wind was blowing so Rocky, our pilot, had an idea of skirting close to the river to try and catch some wind.  We were about 1-2 feet from the ground and cruised over the river top.  Unbelievable!

When looking for a place to land, we went where the wind took us, which happened to be in the middle of a subdivision south of Costco.  Rocky was able to set us down right in the middle of the road, gentle as a feather.

After taking pictures with neighborhood kids, Rocky chirped the burner enough to raise the balloon a few feet off the ground and Merril and his team guided the balloon to a vacant lot around the corner.  Then we helped the balloon deflate and packed it away.

Super fun!  I would recommend it to anyone!  Maybe not if you're afraid of heights though.  :)