October 2012
It was still pitch black outside. Meeting time was at 6:00 a.m. but I was early. So I waited patiently inside Starbucks with my tall latte. Soon, Jason Abbott walked in and he immediately spotted me. "Bring it here!" he said and gave me a bear hug. "I feel like I've known you forever!"
For weeks, we've been exchanging texts and e-mails to schedule this meeting. I was thrilled to chat with him, the pilots, and the crew. I was excited to watch a hot air balloon take flight. This is going to be awesome!
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| The Vegas Balloon Rides van and trailer |
Jason, the Director of Marketing for Vegas Balloon Rides, walked me to the parking lot where the van and trailer were parked. I met one of the pilots, Sheldon, who approached us showing current and forecasted wind conditions on his iPad. He and the crew members were unsure of how the wind was going to behave that morning.
As the sun peeked in the horizon, a crew member released a regular birthday balloon. Everyone watched the balloon toss and tumble upwards and then dart into the west.
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| A regular balloon is released to gauge wind speed and conditions. |
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| Pilot Sheldon (center) with crew members Ryan and Randy (to his right) closely watch the balloon's flight pattern.
The balloon's movement showed irregular wind motion. "We'll have to wait it out a little bit," Sheldon declared and the other pilots agreed. They explained that it's important to have the right wind conditions for a safe hot air balloon flight...and landing. That's why they call it "Walking With The Wind."
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| From left: Pilot Jason, Marketing Director Jason Abbott, and Pilot Sheldon of Vegas Balloon Rides |
He also recounted, "There was this guy who surprised his girlfriend with a balloon ride. At first, she was so freaked out that she didn't want to go. I had to talk her into it. She ended up having a great time while her boyfriend was 'paralyzed' and almost didn't get to propose to her." He laughed and remembered another former passenger, "Another guy who was going to propose tied the engagement ring with fishing lines."
Later, crew members Randy and Ryan joined our mini huddle. "The Big Lebowski," Ryan recognized what was on Jason Abbott's shirt. "That's a good movie!" he said while getting ready to release another balloon. Across the parking lot, a flag was visibly waving in the wind. He explained, "Ideally, that flag should be limp on the flagpole indicating winds are calm and suitable for a flight."
Jason Abbott pointed out that in Las Vegas, they are able to fly about 300 times out of the 365 days in a year. Thanks to favorable weather conditions almost year round in Sin City. In contrast, chances of cancellations in other cities could be as high as 50%. Vegas is a great place to go hot air ballooning.
An hour had passed and the wind speed hadn't slowed down. Sheldon knew he had to call it off. With a heavy heart, he faced the would-be passengers and said, "In hot air ballooning, there's a saying that goes...'I'd rather be on the ground saying I wish I was up there' than being up there and saying 'I wish I was down on the ground.' I'm sorry folks, but we won't be able to go up on the balloon today. We'll try again tomorrow."
Not one passenger whined. Nope. No one complained. They all understood that this was for their own safety. The guys from Vegas Balloon Rides are very experienced and highly knowledgeable in this business. And they are genuinely wonderful people! I enjoyed meeting them and watching them in action. I was reassured that I would be in good hands if I chose to experience my first hot air balloon ride with these guys. I can't wait!
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| The Crew of Vegas Balloon Rides L-R: Randy, Ryan, Jason (pilot), Doug, Marketing Director Jason Abbott, Dan, and kneeling, Sheldon (pilot) |
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