Hot Air Ballooning: A Magical Adventure and Perfect Gift

As I wrote recently on my blog, ballooning is one of those fabulous gifts and experiences that everyone should experience at least once. "There's something incredibly adventurous about having the course of your travels charted by the wind as you skim above trees and rooftops as if in a dream," says Judith Kirkwood of American Way magazine of her experience in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on a United States Hot Air Balloon flight.

U.S. Hot Air Balloon's Founder, Stan Hess, experienced his first balloon ride more than 25 years ago, and he never stopped. And after all these years, Stan still feels the joy of it, “I really know, but can't describe, what makes the magical feeling of drifting thousands of feet off the ground so extraordinary. It just is and you have to experience it for yourself.” Today, his US Hot Air Balloon company makes extraordinary hot air balloon flights possible for ballooning enthusiasts in nearly 100 locations in the United States as well as internationally in places like Switzerland, The Loire Valley, Japan, Tuscany and Germany.     

To the uninitiated, hot air balloons are one of the safest forms of flying, and the U.S. Hot Air Balloon Team pilots, all FAA commercially certified, adhere to rigorous safety standards, typically navigating at low-levels, roughly between the tree tops and 3,000 feet.

For the holidays, U.S. Hot Air Balloon has specially discounted gift certificates for balloon flights across the U.S. Those who purchase certificates for flights in the company's home state of Pennsylvania enjoy an even bigger discount.  Flights can be customized to individual taste (e.g., sunrise, special amenities, etc.). So, let someone's spirits truly soar this holiday; it's an experience that is truly tip tops in my book.