Napa Valley Balloon Ride

One of our favorite experiences in Napa was our balloon ride! We showed up at 5:30am and headed out on a bus to watch the balloons inflate. Once our balloon was ready, we hopped in a basket with 14 other people and our pilot, Harrison Ford (seriously, I think it was him)! We then sailed above the valley staying afloat using state-of-the-art technology such as the pilot spitting over the edge of the basket to determine which way the wind was blowing! Actually, he was really skilled and knew which layers of the "atmosphere" were blowing which direction and was able to steer us right to where he wanted to land. When it came time for landing we snagged a vineyard pole which made for quite the adventure. Apparently, if a balloon pilot damages a vine, he has to pay the vineyard owner $1500 per vine! That could add up quick! We landed and our basket almost tumped over!! Matt was given the honors of deflating our balloon, so that's what he's doing in the pic of him holding a rope. After the ride we hopped back on the bus and they took us to a champagne breakfast. Amazing experience -- we highly recommend it!