Escapes: Up, up, and away!

Riding along with Vista Balloon Adventures

By Eric A. Johnson

There are many ways to experience an adventure, and, among the people driven to do so, adventure tastes vary greatly. Some are seduced by the rush of skydiving or bungee jumping, others may be lured by the cultural and culinary adventures of travel, while still others are into adventure racing, rock climbing and other physically demanding endeavors. Some are into it all.

Whatever your preference, it seems most adventurers have a hot-air balloon ride on their 'would love to do' list. There's a universal draw among adventurers to want to float around in the sky. So, what is it about hot air ballooning? For our inaugural "Escape" column, I set out to discover its appeal by taking off with Vista Balloon Adventures over Oregon wine country.

Vista Balloon Adventures was conceived when Roger Anderson (co-owner with his wife, Catherine Driver) took his first hot air balloon ride. The next day he started investigating how to get his own balloon and, within the month, he had secured one and was heading out to get licensed. Since then, he has shared the hot air balloon experience with hundreds of people, including, recently, me and my beloved. Anderson - previously a fire department captain, a ship docking tugboat operator in San Francisco Bay, and captain of his self-built 3-masted schooner - is the ideal man for the job. His sense of humor, easygoing charm, and obvious competence eased any apprehensions we had.

Considering the requirement that riders be up and at 'em and on location by 6:45 a.m., getting to the launch on time may turn out to be the biggest hurdle of the day. Less than an hour from Vancouver (and even closer from Portland), you can easily make the drive from home in the morning, or (for the lazy adventurer) lodge closer to the launch site (see recommended B&B). Pitch in (or not) to help inflate the balloons, follow simple boarding directions, and ascend...

Quickly, you realize that the experience of rising to 2,000 feet isn't at all what you thought it might be like. It's very peaceful, with minimal jerky movements whether you are changing altitude or not. There is a serene quality of both flying and seeing the world from a more geological perspective. The world seems to have more of a sense of order. You can actually see the forest for the trees.

Most of us have experienced something akin to this in an airplane, but the experience is short-lived and the discomfort of just being in an airplane, let alone hurtling forward at upwards of five- hundred miles an hour, detracts from the beauty. In the peacefulness and subtlety of the balloon ride, you have an hour or more to enjoy the tranquility.

After the ride, Catherine orchestrates a lovely champagne/mimosa buffet for passengers and crew - the perfect conclusion to the voyage. Everything from quiche to chocolate-dipped strawberries are there for the gettin,' and the gettin' is good.

Though I hope it doesn't steal from the moment, should you choose to take this adventure, Roger concludes the event with a toast, quoting an unknown Irish poet in 1783 (the same year as the first recorded hot air balloon flight by the Montgolfier brothers in Annonay, France). It goes:

"The winds have welcomed you
with softness,
The sun has blessed you with
his warm hand,
You have flown so high and so well
That God has joined you in your laughter
And set you back into the loving arms
of Mother Earth."

A bit of history: Hot air balloons are the oldest flight technology for people-toting vessels. Bad news for the "Freedom Fries" xenophobes, the first recorded flight was by the French in 1783. However, there is speculation that 1500 years ago hot air balloons were used by the Peruvian Nazca Indians.

For those of you worried about safety, VBA has been locally owned and operated since 1989, and their Federal Aviation Administration certified pilots have flown thousands of passengers with a perfect safety record.

Bonus: If you choose to stay the evening or weekend in a B&B, we highly recommend The Dream Giver's Inn in Newberg. Privately owned by two locals, Linda Kestler and Kristen Hardy, this cozy, elegant getaway provides inviting home comfort with a Zen-like quality. So inviting, in fact, that a few guests there opted to hang out around the grounds rather than stick to their original itineraries. There is plenty of private and community space, with all the details attended to. And don't make me mention Linda's Crme BržlŽe French Toast, which was irresistible, even after having already eaten the VBA brunch.

Soft landings!

Vista Balloon Adventures, 23324 S.W. Sherk Place, Sherwood, OR; $189 for the one-hour flight and brunch; flight season is April to November, daily except Tuesdays; call 503-625-7385 or 800-622-2309, or visit vistaballoon.com for more info.

Dream Giver's Inn Bed & Breakfast, 7150 N.E. Earlwood Rd.; Newberg; $169-$199; call 503-625-1476, email info@dreamgiversinn.com or visit DreamGiversInn.com for more info.