The Great 2022 California Expedition: Part 2

Hi Everyone - 

Ok...so picking up right where we left off.

Day 5 - Spring Loop Trail

Day 5 we decided to go on a hike, so went to Spring Loop Trail which was about a 4-mile trail around a reservoir near Santa Rosa. Beautiful scenery and lots of people, dogs and geese, but it was rather hilly and quite hot and I was getting a blister on my foot towards the end. Afterwards, we had a nice lunch in Santa Rosa at a place called Belly, and then pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day. 

Day 6 - Our Anniversary & Sonoma Botanical Gardens

Day 6 was our 29th (!!!) wedding anniversary. Glenn somehow managed to smuggle in a sweet card for me, some beautiful roses, and a stuffed cow (I've named him Claude.)

We left these for Leigh when we left and she was so thrilled.

We went to the Sonoma Botantical Gardens which were different than any botanical gardens we've been to - more like a hike in the woods than formal gardens...it was much more wild. (And steep!) There were numerous signs warning of rattlesnakes and mountain lions, but fortunately, we encountered neither.

They did have a rose garden, which had some gorgeous variations.

Glenn got this amazing pic

We had a quiet afternoon at home after this, and later went to dinner at Solange, which is a well-known resort in Calistoga. We just ate at the pool restaurant, Picobar, which was delicious (but insanely hot.)

Day 7 - Hot Air Balloon Ride!

Day 7 started at 4 am, which was not as terrible as it sounds. We were both awake and excited. We drove to Yountville near Napa, and checked in. There were a number of balloons (I think 6?) going out and a decent-sized crowd, but it was a well-organized place. A funny and very skilled guy named Justin was our pilot, and our balloon was called Mambo.

The ride felt very smooth and solid. I had no fears, although Glenn was a little nervous at take off. Sorry, since this was likely a once in a lifetime experience, I took a million pics, but REALLY tried to cut them down. Here we go!

Ok...well maybe a little nervous.

The pilot said the hardest part of the trip is getting into the basket.

I think all the fields you will see are actually vineyards.

If you look closely, you can see the shadow of the balloon on the hillside.

You can see our shadow in this one too - right in the middle.

So at one point, I asked if they always landed the balloon in the same place, and Justin laughed and said no - they had a few spots they aimed for, but he's landed virtually anywhere you can think of. So I said, well, what happens if you are coming down in a vineyard? I can't imagine the owners would want their grapes flattened. And he said that there was a crew of "chasers" that drive around chasing the balloons to see where they are coming down. Then a bunch of guys come out, the balloon pilot drops a rope to them, and they pull the balloon to where they want it to land. Justin said, "We'll probably have to do that today, actually." And we did. 

So here are the guys on the ground with the pull rope, pulling us in.

Once we got near the ground, the pilot told us all to think negative thoughts. "Just like positive thoughts help us rise up into the air, negative thoughts help us land."

Then they set up a tarp nearby so when the balloon deflates, it falls onto the tarp.

Once we hit the ground, they open the smiley face at the top of the balloon and all the heated air goes flying out and the balloon basically starts to collapse. 

Then the crew wrings all the air out, wraps the balloon up in the tarp, and puts it back into a truck and drives it back to the launch site. Looks like hard work. We took a shuttle.

So beautiful! Just an amazing adventure. I'm so glad Glenn talked me into it. 

Alright guys, so this seems like another good stopping place. Tomorrow we begin the journey to Carmel Valley Ranch. Stay Tuned!