Beth Myers - HERLIFE Magazine

herlife | travelUp, UpandAwayHot AirBallooningby hope fergusonDorothy and Justin Bain were planning a trip to check outan antique vehicle last year. On the way, Justin got aphone call “from the supposed seller of the car, who saidhe couldn’t make it, but we could go take a look,” recalledDorothy. “As we pull up to the property, we see a hot airballoon. We get out, and a woman comes over, and asks, ‘Do you wantto come see what it’s like?’”“It was lovely,” Dorothy continued, “I got excited, and said sure.”Before she knew it, they were “up at 1,000 feet soaring over everything.It was so quiet, the only thing you could hear was occasionalfiring of the propane tank.” They sailed over farmland, horses andcattle, startling a herd of deer. As they were landing, they spotted thechase vehicle.The woman who had invited them to ride was holding up a sign thatread, “Will you marry me?” It was only then that Dorothy realized that Justinhad set up the whole ruse. “As we were landing he pulled out the ring.”Hot air ballooning has become popular for celebrating engagementsand other landmark occasions, attracting flying enthusiasts, neophytes,couples, families and people checking off their “bucket lists.”According to Greg Livadas, owner of High Hopes Balloon Companyin Rochester, New York, the first man off the earth was in a balloon.The launch took place in France in 1783. More than a century beforethe Wright brothers, the Montgolfier brothers owned a paper companyand were curious about why smoke rose in the fireplace, inflating achemise and carrying it upward. So, they built a large paper balloon,lit a fire under it, and the balloon rose. “Not knowing whether it waspossible to breathe off the earth, they sent up a rooster, a sheep and aduck to test the atmosphere” prior to launching a human, Livadas said.The event was witnessed by Benjamin Franklin.Fast forward to the 20th century. Modern balloons were developedby Raven Industries, Inc. of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 1962,under a Navy contract. They developed the design for an airborneheater run from a propane tank, which kept the balloon inflated longerand gave the pilot the ability to move the craft up and down.Commercial balloon rides are usually an hour and cost a coupleof hundred dollars, unless you are at a balloon festival where pilotssometimes offer free rides. The Adirondack Balloon Festival and theAlbuquerque International Balloon Fiesta are two of the most popular.Livadas joined a chase team in high school, eventually becominglicensed to fly passengers. (Balloons, like other aircraft, are regulatedby the Federal Aviation Administration.)Fair weather is a must, as the balloon is steered by the wind.Livadas gauges where a balloon will go by checking which way treesand flags are blowing. He makes sure to fly over open space, as he124 HERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM