The winds have welcomed you with softness.The Sun has blessed you with his warm hands. You have flown so high and so well, that God has joined you in your laughter. And has set you gently back again into the loving arms of Mother Earth.
On Thursday October 6, 2011, I and my friend Dee Ann La Motte traveled to Asheville, North Carolina to fulfill one of my
Bucket List pursuits. We went up in a Hot Air Balloon! I have always enjoyed heights. I like being able to view things from high places. It is amazing how much clearer things can become when you can look at them from a high perspective.
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| Balloon.... filling it up |
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Almost Ready
Gas entering the Balloon |
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| Another Early Morning Balloon Flight |
If you are reading this piece then most of you who know me, already know that I am not comfortable flying. I have thought for along time that it has to do with control issues. By that I mean,
my control issues. When flying you are totally at the mercy of too many other factors that you have no control over, so therefore it causes panic, fear, anxiety, which for me, leads to an overwhelming all encompassing bout of motion sickness, upset stomach, sweats and agonizing headaches. This time saving opportunity of flying, becomes a nightmare that I prefer not to encounter because I have always been a control freak extraordinaire, most of my life.
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| The Shadow of us ascending |
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| High flight above the tree's with a smaller shadow |
As I move forward in my journey to explore and to grow I am working on letting go and to just enjoy the moment. It is a leap of faith every single time I walk through the door from from the sanctuary of home, out to the realm of the other world called life. Security and safe havens can also be lonely, depressing, and filled with too many dark thoughts that can cause you to 'make mountains out of molehills', so the saying goes. So with the help of my friend Dee Ann, I made a leap of faith, was able to experience a totally new adventure, meet some really interesting, intelligent, pro-active people, one of which was Nancy Dring a Psychotherapist from Sarasota ,Florida, I felt an instant kinship with her and throughly enjoyed chatting with her. I now can cross a singular item off of my bucket list. Yeah for me!
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| Flying High...Good Morning Sun |
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| North Carolina Mountains birds eye view |
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A lovely sight, catching a breath, holding my palm cross, while saying hi to my loved ones
in the Heavens so close but yet so far.. |
The hot air balloon experience left me wanting more! We gradually ascended, lifting up to about 550 feet catching a slight air current and drifting around 10 to 12 miles, then coming down and doing what was called a stick landing to avoid some power lines in the hills of the North Carolina countryside. The balloon was enormous, the large basket could accommodate eight adults plus the pilot comfortably. Unfortunately we had ten plus the pilot so it was way too tight, was uncomfortable for most of us and I believe we couldn't reach a higher level of flight because of the additional weight of two extra people. It was somewhat disorganized as we began in the very early morning. We arrived at 6:15 on a cold and crisp morning, to meet our driver and pilot. We then climbed into our 12 passenger van to head towards our departure destination. The pilot was doing calculations about the many different atmospheric perspective's. (As a side note to this story, I will tell you part of his calculations included asking for our correct weight....geeze I couldn't even lie because he needed it to be exact so we wouldn't all come crashing down...Who knew this would be the most traumatic part of the journey)He sent up black balloons to test the wind current and to see which way it would move so that he could decide where we would depart from. At our destination he and his crew removed the basket, balloon and the gas fan and engine to begin the process of expanding the balloon. While it was interesting to observe this process it took about 45 minutes and it was a little nipplely out in the elements as Curt would say. After we landed we had to deflate the balloon pack back up and return to where we began in the early morning hours. Our pilot Addison Brown of
R.O. Franks Aviation Company, was very knowledgeable about what he was doing. When we arrived back we were invited up to his 5th floor condo in downtown Asheville, which was crisp, clean, modern and very revealing about his life and interest's living in this happening city in the mountains. We toasted with
champagne, chatted about our flight and was given a certificate authenticating our Balloon Flight! It was a lovely experience all things considered, and I will definitely, given the opportunity, would like to travel somewhere out west to do it all again. Why out west? Wide open spaces, fewer power lines and other venues to view.
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| Looking up as we float down |
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| Deep thoughts by Dee Ann LaMotte |
Have you ever wondered what keeps a hot air balloon flying? The same principle that keeps food frozen in the open chest freezers at the grocery store allows hot air balloons to fly.
It's a very basic principle: Hot air rises and cold air sinks. So while the super-cooled air in your grocer's freezer settles down around the food, the hot air in a hot air balloon pushes up, keeping the balloon floating.
A hot air balloon has three major parts: the envelope, the burner, and the basket.
The basket is where passengers ride. Usually made of wicker, baskets protect the occupants and are lightweight and flexible. The burner is positioned above the passenger's heads and produces a huge flame to heat the air inside the envelope. The envelope is the colorful fabric bag that holds the hot air. When the air inside the envelope is heated, the balloon rises. To descend, the pilot allows the air to cool and the balloon becomes heavier than air. The pilot has complete control of the up-and-down movements by controlling the heat in the envelope. Once airborne, balloons just float with the wind. It is true that the pilot doesn't know where the balloon will land ahead of time, but that doesn't mean he can't control the landing!
Before the balloon is launched, the pilot knows which way the wind is blowing so he knows which way the balloon will go. The air is in layers, and the different layers may be moving in different directions. So even though the pilot can't steer the balloon, he can move up and down to find a layer of air that will allow the balloon to change direction. Some days the amount of change is very small; other days the balloon may be able to actually turn around and fly in the opposite direction! During the flight the balloon is followed by the chase crew.
The chase crew is usually in radio contact with the pilot, and the crew's job is to be at the landing site when the balloon touches down. This can be quite an adventure in itself!
After the balloon lands, the crew packs the balloon back into the chase vehicle and everyone returns to the launch site. One of the most important parts of being on a chase crew is dealing with the public. When the balloon is landing, the chase crew asks the landowner for permission to retrieve the balloon. They are borrowing someone's land every time they take off and land, so they are very careful not to disturb or damage someone's property.
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| deflation |
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| packing up, heading back to reality |
I will admit after our flight and a lunch at the good old Cracker Barrel in Asheville,as well as driving home, I was mentally and physically fatigued, I guess the excitement and lack of sleep the night before played a role in this. After arriving home in the late day, I showered and cuddle up with my thoughts and memories and savored what I would share about this adventure with all of you as I fell in to a deep and much needed sleep. I hated to miss my grandson Hunter's football game but I was wiped out!
To all of you I offer this insight. We all have hidden recesses within us that are just begging for an opportunity to come forward into the light. No matter how young or how old we are we need to open up, explore and relish in life's experience's. We are not privy to God's knowledge of how long we shall be here on this part of our journey, so I say 'seize the day', let out your sails and full speed ahead. This second, this moment is what you need to make the most of. The uncertainty of tomorrow is only a whisper of a promise, so value the certainty of what is offered up right now and go forward. I am and I will follow through on those words. The possibilities are endless and I am ready, willing and able. So if you want to join me and have some plans you are ready to set into fruition call me, I am waiting for your call. God Bless and keep you until we meet again.
Romans 12:1-15 (NIV) LSJL
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| My certificate |
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| Addison pouring the Champagne, it is a tradition after you complete your flight |
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| A toast to you and this amazing journey called life! |
