My wife booked our flight for us on the morning of Saturday, August 4th. This was the first time for both of us going up in a hot air balloon so we were pretty excited. We met at Domaine Chandon at around 5:30 in the morning for our flight.
There was coffee and danishes on hand for us prior to our departure which was nice. We were asked to sign waivers and relax before getting briefed. Mike came in and spoke to us about what to expect and what he / they expected of us (rules & guidelines to follow), and introduced the pilots who would be flying on this morning.
Once we were done with the briefing, we headed out to the parking lot where we would get assigned our pilot and what vehicles would carry us to the launch site. The drive to our launch site did not take long at all, we were there in a matter of minutes. We were fortunate to have Mike as our pilot, and he was EXCELLENT!!!
We were one of five balloons that launched this morning with Napa Valley Balloons. Once airborne, there were about 15 total balloons that had taken off and were flying through the valley. Mike was very informative and answered pretty much any and all questions while flying. The only time he asked that we table any questions was when he started to get busy during the landing approach which was understandable. Mike communicated to me that he has been flying for 30 plus years, and his excellent airmanship showed!! We felt very safe throughout the flight! Mike briefed us on the landing process and procedure as we started nearing the end of our journey. He told us what to do and what to expect, and I must say he was right on the money!!! Mike put the balloon down to a very safe landing in wide open space.
Once our journey was over, we loaded up into the van (that followed us during our flight and was in constant communication with Mike) and headed back to Domaine Chandon where we enjoyed a sparkling wine brunch.
Thank you to Mike and the folks at Napa Valley Balloons for making our first balloon flight such a memorable and remarkable experience!!!!