Lasting Memory with Mom

My Mom has been a widow for many years now and one of my great pleasures is taking her on adventures.  My dad did plenty of that and I just feel I needed to fill the void. 

So when a Groupon showed up in my inbox for Hot Air Ballooning I remembered that Mom always wanted to go up in one and I snatched them up! 

It was a cool, misty morning up in Park City last week and I was worried we wouldn't be able to see anything, but it was actually quite beautiful and eventually burned off.

It all started with a bag.  And a basket.  It's hard to believe that bag would eventually fill the sky.

We got to help out as they turned on the fan and blew air into the balloon.  It made it quite chilly for me, the fan kept vibrating right in my direction!

That other balloon in the background was for a group of sky divers.  They crowded 12 people in the basket, standing room only and yes, they jumped OUT of the balloon.  Ok, I'm not that adventurous.

Ready to take off...and really, it doesn't feel like taking off in the literal sense.  It was the most amazing feeling, like you were a balloon.  It was very gentle.

I suppose I could wax philosophical, but I'll leave it to your imagination.  Those wires on either side were the only thing holding us all up!

After spending quite a bit of time above the world, our pilot took us around a small mountain, just skirting the edge, our basket touching the tops of trees.  My Mom said, "This is like hiking without all the work!"

After a perfect landing, we got to help deflate the balloon and somehow, magically get it to fit back into that bag.  That was a work-out!

So glad we had this opportunity to spend time with my Mom and create a lasting memory.