Up Up and Away

yesterday the wife and I took a sunrise hot air balloon trip .. Something I would have never dreamed of doing but was so glad and grateful we did.. Afterwards we went to breakfast and was kinda shocked to hear my wife say, "what's our next adventure" ? My response was, "what , do you have a bucket list going now " ? Well she gave me a look of like, yea..
In our early days we were unable or really had desire to many things and were satisfied with simple things like just going to the Adirondacks , we still are.. Lately since the kids have grown up we have started to expand on adventures and must say it's been a pretty awesome ride.. Places out west, the Grand Canyon , Niagara Falls, theme parks , and the boat on the Great Lake just to name a few.. During breakfast I said I loved the west and really would like to go back to spend more time there again in places we were only able to spend little or missed, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado , New Mexico and of course the high country of Arizona , she greed but threw me a curve and said " we have already been there, we need to go to Alaska first"
Heck yea, no argument there from me !!!
In saying this, I also must say I am so grateful to have been married to such a wonderful woman for 31 years and cant wait to continue our journeys together, where ever the bucket list takes us from here on, she has great ideas :)
 
Sappy as that was, here are some pic's from floating high in the sky, we could almost see Fichy's house :)
After about 20 mins in the air the morning low hanging fog burned off and the views were amazing from both perspectives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Peace & Tuna
 

My wife took me on a hot air ballon trip for my 50th birthday. Totally cool experience.

Have done the fighter jet thing in a 1979 Mig that was bought from the old USSR and also a 1942 open cockpit biplane, but the ballon, with no noise and no sense of movement was probably my favorite.

Absolutely awesome!
 
I think I know what to get my wife for her birthday next spring.

A lucky man it is you are!

Cool thanks Charlie :
We went out of Argyle, yes lots of great looking country, sans some industrial back in glens falls.
My next door neighbor is also a Balloonist , B&B and authorized balloon repair service, our pilot was recommended by him because he was booked all season, into next year as well..
For sure next year we are going to go catch some of the festivals.. Ever since I was a kid riding the school bus , I was always in awe of the floating hot air balloons .. The field next to our school was named  "Balloon fields" ..  

hot tuna
Thanks for sharing those thoughts DarDys,While I never did the fighter jet thing, it had to be a rush.

The plane was flown over Afghanastan by the USSR as a recon. The guys that bought it were retired Navy fighter pilot instructors.

Since it had two sets of controls, he would demonstrate a move and if you didn't puke (which luckiliy I didn't)!you got to do the move.

There were a few rules though -- nothing over 500 knots, nothing closer to the ocean that 200 feet, and don't go outside the territorial water bouys because the aircraft return signal is still Soviet and we didn't need jets from Key West or Homestead to come see what we were.

Did inside loops, flew straight up from 1000 to 5000, rolled it, and flew upside down until the alarms sounded.

Didn't eat or drink for the rest of the day due to burping air.

The balloon was a tad more peaceful.