I've been anxiously waiting to finally have some time to write this review! Oh my gosh, where do I begin? My boyfriend has been in town this past week during his leave time after his Army graduation, so I wanted to do something special for him and I to do together. Other hot air balloon companies in the Temecula area were fully booked this past weekend, but I saw the great reviews on Yelp for California Dreamin' and they miraculously had an opening for us on Saturday morning. Don't be fooled - even though this company doesn't have thousands of Yelp/Trip Advisor reviews like some of the others do, this is still a top-notch experience and I can't imagine having gone anywhere else!
As much as I'd love to write out every detail of the morning, I think I'm better off just saying that there wasn't a single thing I would have changed about how this experience went. The balloon ride was the most amazing thing I've ever done (and I'm deathly afraid of heights!) and our pilot was so knowledgeable. Afterwards, you head back to the vineyard for breakfast and coffee/mimosas, where you can sit on the comfortable seating they have laid out on the property which is incredibly picturesque, especially after a fresh sunrise. I found myself feeling like I never wanted to leave. We paid full price for our tickets (no Groupon or anything) but it was hands-down worth every single penny. If you're thinking about splurging on this experience, I would say absolutely do it.