Waking up at 3:45 in the morning on a Friday is not an overjoyous welcoming to the start of a new day. Yet, the early rise was more than worth the heavenly glide over the vineyards of Oregon. The serenity of floating through the tranquil skies of Oregon's wine country and farmlands by Hot Air Balloon proved a calming commencement of a bright day.

I bolted out of bed to fuel myself with black steaming coffee, which supported my sleepy haze. My friend Heidi and I were silent, struggling to stand up straight while sluggishly getting dressed. We were just hanging onto the bits of energy that we could muster up before driving 2 hours to Newberg, where Vista Balloon Adventures, Inc is located. Heidi had willingly volunteered to accompany me, and I was groggily happy to have her there to share the ballooning experience with me.

I had spoken with Roger, the owner, along with his wife Catherine. He arranged for us to join the group that Friday. I received further information on Vista Balloons in the mail: a map, a detailed letter to make the experience superb, and a passenger awareness form that stated three key elements of safety (Weather, Equipment and Pilot Judgment). Roger had called me on Thursday and let me know that the conditions were perfect for flying, not uncommon courteousness to all passengers, and that he looked forward to seeing us out there.

The colorful red, blue and yellow massive balloons that were filling with air were not difficult to spot from the road. The elaborate colors captivated my eyes. We hopped out of the car, bundling up with our winter gear on, gloves and puffy jackets, for the morning was not as warm as one would expect in the spring.

Catherine was at the table, where she gave me my boarding pass and welcomed us to the Vista Ballooning family. Roger came over to greet us and led me to the basket where I would be. The 7 other passengers encircled the basket waiting for the envelope, which is the name for the balloon, to fill up with enough air to allow our entry into the basket. The loud growling sound of the fire that filled the envelope halted conversations, overpowering the group's voices.

Roger signaled for the group to enter the basket. Everyone climbed, slided, or slithered in the high-rising weaved walls, waving to the school kids that were helping the balloon crew out with boosting us from the ground to the air. Heidi was trailing off with the ground crew that would follow us in a chaser van. She would be on the ground adventure following our balloon, unaware of where we would land. I would be the airborne traveler.

The firing filled the silent air as we began to float upwards. The sun was just about to rise as by now it was 6:30am. I was standing next to an older woman who was celebrating her 90th birthday – what a glorious way to enjoy your day. I only hope I'll be that adventurous when I'm in my 30s, even! The rest of the group was older women. Roger, the owner, and Robert, the pilot, guided us over the landscape, vineyards and farmlands below.

We gracefully danced through the sky, over luscious green trees. The sun rushed its rays through thin clouds, and the tranquil breeze brushed my face as we crossed over patches of sheep herds. The sheep paid no attention to the huge colorful floatation that screamed every few seconds to fire the envelope full of hot air.

Gliding through the peaceful heavens, the clouds pillowed the atmosphere with fluffy ornamentations. The air was soft and embraced the balloon, gliding through the sky with ease. The flourishing foliage under us surrounded my sights. The van sneaked just below the balloon, predicting where we might land, unpredictable due to the changing winds and wind wavelengths that guided us through the air.

The group was fairly quiet, everyone drenched with lavish serenity and copious exhilaration. We began our descent onto an open field, the van parked and the ground crew unloaded in preparation of our landing. Heidi waved from below, taking on her role as one of the crewmembers, just like a little girl with a responsibility that she was so proud of. The balloon gradually reached the ground crew as their hands supported the basket.

We settled on the terrain, lodged on grassy farmland. The ballooning group retreated from the bulky straw basket, smiling joyously from the soaring adventure. Empty of hot air, the envelope quickly fell to the ground. Everyone joined the entertaining and amusing task of pushing the leftover air out of the envelope. This very well could have been the most fun I had on the adventure. Heidi and I thrashed our arms and bodies on the envelope to release the pent-up air inside. The crew and group teamed together in putting the 220-pound envelope back in its sleeping bag. I had wanted to crawl in myself.

After cooperation and much laughter, we loaded into the van to head back for a country breakfast, prepared by Catherine. The van was bustling with our experiences and talk of the crew's captivating farming lifestyles. We arrived to a feast of biscuits and gravy, scalloped potatoes, rhubarb crumbcake, bagels and cream cheese, scrambled eggs and sausage. The crew served us mimosas as Roger proposed a toast to the adventure and living the good life. The traditional toast was inspired by the history of the Hot Air Balloon in France. The first time that peasants saw the balloon floating from the sky they offered champagne to the balloonist. In this Roger embraced this token of celebrating this beautiful practice and carried this delightful history to Vista Balloon Adventures.

The ride was not only overflowing with serenity and peaceful delight, but a rich and friendly welcoming from the crew that felt like family. Waking up early was the hardest part about this journey but more than worth the ride. The tranquility of this enlightening ride teemed with blissful momentous delight.

Hot Air-Cooled Ride
If you are interested in ballooning with Vista Balloon Adventures, Inc. you can reach them at (800) 622 2309. Not only may you experience the joyous ride, but also Yamhill wine country plants the landscape with vines galore. So, not solely a magnificent ballooning experience, but at the weekend a visit to romantic Oregon wineries.

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