UP, UP, and AWAY

Tuesday, May 9

The alarm went off way too early.

By 4:20 we were up, dressed & on our way back to Temecula in our hot, little Ford Focus; we had to meet the balloon company at 5:30. There was little traffic and the directions were good, so we pulled into a parking spot at 5:31. The place was a B&B/vineyard with a house on a hill and a beautiful view of the valley immediately in front of it (where the grapes were being watered at this ungodly hour). There were 5 of us present, 2 couples and one older woman in addition to us, with 2 more expected - they got lost and showed up 10 minutes late. When they did pull up, we may as well have been on the set of "A Golden Girl Special: the girls do a balloon ride before Sophia kicks it." Two more elderly women joined us in the van to raise the total age of balloon riders to close to 375. We stopped for a pee break and then went off in search of the perfect easterly wind on which to lift our balloon.

By the time we found that wind, it was 6:45. The van was driven into a field so the inflation process could begin. This involved a lot of standing around for the riders and a lot of work for the crew. First, a plastic tarp was placed on the ground so the basket could put on the ground, on its side (easier to attach the balloon). Then, a huge nylon tarp was spread out and the balloon was unfurled. Large fans were put on either side of the basket to push air into the balloon. Once it was nearly inflated, the crew decided to load the "ladies." This involved getting them horizontal so they could crawl into the basket; then, when the basket was pulled upright by the balloon, they would already be in it. Ever seen 3 80+ women crawl into something? I recommend it.

The rest of us climbed into the basket using foot cutouts. This involved jumping down onto the floor of the basket, which the collective knees of the GG wouldn't have borne too well. The pilot then heated the air (elicited some extra twittering from the GGs) and we were gently lifted into the air. I have to mention, that one of the GGs was a substitute for another whose knees & hip were so bad she couldn't even get into the van. The subsitute's name was Ann and she was there because her friend's daughter had bought them a ride; she was not thrilled to be in a hot air balloon.

It was an amazing ride - you just drift over rooftops and trees and roads. It's pretty quiet and the gas kept us warm though it was a damp, overcast morning. The only tense part, for me, came when the pilot lifted us about 200 feet in the air - the ground looked very far away and the clouds/fog started closing in around us, obscuring everything, and we ceased to move. I got pretty nervous, which fed Ann's already frazzled nerves as she had also realized that we weren't moving. She looked at Bryan and with supreme seriousness said, "I smell gas." I guess Ann hadn't noticed that gas was what powered a balloon. B couldn't contain his chuckle and Ann ducked down into the basket, sure we were doomed. The other guy in the balloon, Stan, checked with the pilot and found out that he was looking for a southern wind to carry us across the vineyards. He found something because we started moving again and we floated closer to the ground. I liked being closer to the ground. The pilot was able to show off a bit as we passed over fields, just brushing the tops of grasses and mustardseed, then when it seemed that we would crash into the side of a hill, lifting us just over. Very cool.

We finally found a good field in which to land, and we did so with barely a bump; we touched down and stopped. We had to wait for the ground crew to find us and then had to wait, in the balloon, as they collapsed the balloon (our weight kept the basket anchored). When we could get out, 4 of us did so easily. The Golden Girls needed some help and it was Bryan to the rescue, 'cause he's so tall ("and strong and handsome.") He practically lifted 2 of them out of the basket causing them to gush about his brawniness. When we all had our feet on the ground, there was champagne all around and a van ride back to our starting point. Turns out the B&B/vineyard belonged to our pilot, David, and his wife had prepared breakfast for us. David turned on the charm teling us about his grapes and the property and how long he'd been flying balloons and bi-planes. He bought the land from an older woman with whom he'd become friends because he would land his balloons in her driveway.

After singing Happy Birthday to the Golden Girls, thanking David for the ride and the bottle of wine he gave us in honor of our nuptials, we got back in our beatmobile and headed to toward the coast. Time check: 9:30 AM. We navigated our way to Oceanside (just north of Carlsbad, where we were meeting Joe & Jan for lunch at 1:30), took an hour nap on the beach, walked a long pier eating a morning snack of McDonald's french fries, watched people fishing off said pier (they catch perch), then headed to lunch. Now: 12:15 PM.

We made it to Carlsbad in 15 minutes, found Joe's condo from memory (he had shown us the way the Tues before but that was after 4 beers - not bad), and realized we were too early. So, we stopped at the Carlsbad Outlets, ate a fish taco at Rubio's (holy delicious), bought some pistachios, then went for our "real" lunch at an Italian restaurant. We also got the speed tour through the San Luis Rey Mission and finished the afternoon with a pint at an Irish tavern. We arrived back at the car rental office five minutes before they closed and relinquished our sweet ride.

A nap before dinner, which we ate at Dakota's, the restaurant at the Gaslamp Plaza Suites. The food was uninspired but filling and gave us just enough strength to visit the Hustler store around the corner. The (wo)man at the 1st floor counter was intimidating, but we pressed on through all 3 floors of Larry Flintified merchandise, and made it out without buying one adult video. We returned to the room to sleep off our 19 hour day.

Visit Bryan's blog to find out how we spent our last day in SD on Wednesday, May 10th...