Yawn! We had to be at the balloon place at 5:30, though I was excited enough I couldn't sleep past 3. We actually got to the Vineyard Gardens by 5:15 or so. They had decaf(!) coffee and tea while we waited. My camera was giving me trouble. This has been the case for many months, and it's been getting worse. At first, in Eugene, it was cold and would take pictures once it had been warmed up. The other day I discovered if I "play"ed the pictures it would "remember" how to take them. This morning, since I had no pictures stored on the card, I started messing with the menu and that made it work. However, this was a thorn in my side all day, and I kept muttering "I hate this camera!" which of course wasn't true.

We waited around for a couple of late folks, but finally we loaded onto a van, really crowded, enough to get my claustrophobia chugging, and drove to Domaine Chandon, just past the Veteran's Home in Yountville. I didn't see a balloon and then, suddenly:
there it was. This is the balloon we would go on, but we were lucky and got the second ride. This is lucky partly because it might not be as crowded, and it's possible the first ride will be cut short to allow the second, which can take longer.

We watched them fill the balloons, then fill the baskets. I got a bad case of panic: I would have been real tempted to chicken out, despite the cost and the fact I've looked forward to it for months. Maybe the crowded van trip set me off. This is another reason we were lucky to have the second trip. I had time to calm down. I had chickened out when we all had a chance to ride in a biplane, many years ago, and I still regret it.

We watched the balloons take off. This one (ours) almost hit the trees. Eeek! Then we finally got back into the van, much less crowded, and went back to Vineyard Gardens. We picked up the late folks ("what part of 5:30 do you not understand?") and watched the balloons drifting slowly southward toward us. After about 15 minutes, we chugged back into the van and headed for a road where our pilot Ferell was landing.

They got off, we got on. I even managed the climb in without embarrassing myself. We had 9 passengers instead of 16, so already it was great. Rich and I shared a compartment.

And off we go! We went as high as 1600 feet, and at one point he brought it down only about 5 feet above a vineyard. Then a touch of hot air and up we zoomed again. The only time you feel a breeze is as you change wind layers and the envelope is going one direction while the basket is still in a different layer.

This looks like a Turner painting!

We could see backyards and pools, vineyard workers, and a dog racing through a vineyard like a maniac, perhaps chasing a jackrabbit? If it had been less hazy, we could have seen San Francisco, too. Ferell set off bubbles. In the balloon, they soon committed suicide into the envelope, but over the side, they fell... it would be interesting to be in one's backyard and suddenly have bubbles shower down. We saw a man come out for his paper, and never look up.

All too soon it was time to come down. Ferell overshot the Vineyard Gardens, so he thought of going to a field. The first time he came down, though, the ground wind was faster than he thought, and we were in a housing development too soon. Up we went and drifted farther south before we again descended. This time we came down in the middle of a field, but not before going over a woman feeding her dogs in the backyard. She didn't look up either.

The chase crew caught us in the field and walked the balloon over to the development and over a fence. I thought they might as well get us to the van door! Then Ferell pulled the vent and we called for Batman.

I think it would be amazing to be going to work and have to turn a different way because there was a balloon on your street, but I suppose to these people it's real old.

The camera was really acting up here. I tried about 4 different times to get Rich leaving the basket, but I had to settle for this after the balloon was all furled up.

We went back to the Vineyard Gardens for a fantastic champagne brunch, and Ferell gave each of us a balloon pin and a certificate. This was a totally amazing day, and it was all over at 9AM!

We went back to the motel and dozed a little, then checked out. I'd thought, yesterday, of going to some wineries or looking at the olde houses of Napa, but I just wanted to go home. Of course, there were a few places to stop on the way.

We went to the Hakusan Sake plant and Japanese gardens. I did the sake tasting, and discovered it can be served cold, too. The hot stuff is "run of the mill" sake. I bought some plum sake. This drink has no sulfites, so Rob could enjoy it, and when they are here next I'll suggest this place. The lady said "domo arigato" and it took me the rest of the day to remember the "gomen nasai" response. Good thing I took Japanese, isn't it?

I suggested to Rich we stop at Travis AFB Museum, and it is fantastic. They have lots of stuff to interest him. I got a new summer nightshirt, as my Gonzaga one, '94, is quite tattered. This one shows a C5 and says "Prepare for Takeoff" which is probably more information than my children really need. The camera worked fine for Rich and all the airplanes.

From there we went to the Vacaville Outlets on back roads. Rich got some new slacks. Then we discovered everything in Black&Decker was 50% off. He got a new drill, we got a shower present for Vince and Niki, and I found a little gismo for my vacuum that will do keyboards. It could double as an alien puppet, as well!

So, home to the dog, who was very happy to be out of jail!