Balloon ride as the leaves start to turn
Above the trees in Vermont
There was one reason why Charlie wanted to go to Vermont in October: fall foliage – the autumnal colours of the trees. And what’s a better way to see them than from above?
Charlie was looking into options to get a bird’s eye view on the trees and that’s how she found Balloon Vermont. She could not have made a better decision!
Before the flight
It was easy to book a spot in the shared basket via their website and Charlie received a comprehensive email containing all the information she needed, from meeting point to what to wear.
She had originally booked a slot on a Wednesday afternoon which had to be rescheduled due to wind and rain. The alternative was a sunrise flight on the Thursday morning. This was the best that could have happened. It was foggy at first, but as soon as the sun came up, the air cleared and they had a view all the way to Montreal.
The meeting point was at 6 in the morning at The Essex Resort & Spa. There were no busses going that early in the day and Charlie took a taxi from her AirBnB in Burlington which she could conveniently book online.
Getting ready for take off
All passengers were picked up from the front of the resort by Don, a member of the team of Balloon Vermont. They got into the van and drove to a soccer field near the town of Milton. The crew had carefully selected the launch point to ensure good views of the foliage.
Some passengers had gone in a balloon before and were surprised by the size of the basket which could hold up to 20 people. They were only 14 that day and everybody got a spot on the outside of the basket. They watched the set up and inflation process, heard a safety briefing by Jeff, the pilot, and we’re ready to go. Jeff made all passengers feel safe at all times and always had a joke up his sleeve. He was going above and beyond to ensure everybody had the best time!
Above the trees of Vermont
They took off to the air at about 7.30 in the morning just as the sun had come up behind the mountains. It was magical. They could see Lake Champlain in its full splendour, the mountains in all directions and Montreal in the distance. As they flew over the swamps and some smaller lakes, they saw the reflection of the balloon at the water surface. To make it all more exciting, Jeff guided the balloon close to some trees so that the passengers could pick some leaves. For a special effect, he lowered the balloon above a pond and for a second it looked as if he wanted to land in the water before heating the flame up again to take to the air once more.
Back to the ground
The crew of Balloon Vermont was in constant contact with Jeff during the flight to follow the route. They landed safely on a farm of a maple syrup producer and it was all hands on deck to get the balloon deflated and packed up again. The sun stood up high in the sky at that time and it was warm so that Charlie could take a few layers off. The crew had set up a table and the champagne ready. All passengers enjoyed a glass of bubbly on the terrace next to the field overlooking the landscape. There could not have been a better way to see Vermont in autumn.
