I was running out of ideas.. I could barely think of something cool in the days leading up to his birthday. A few friends called up and were excited to know what I was planning. I told them.. well we did that Vegas trip thingy.. and I think I am done. I even  baked a surprise cardamom-date cake. The fact was.. I had nothing.. nada.. zilch to do on his birthday.

Then I read somewhere (I think in the photog hobby group forum) about balloon rides. I was still iffy about the idea. You see, I was toying with 2 ideas – the balloon ride Vs 9 course dinner with some awesome wine pairing @ Herbfarm.  Seeing the plummeting reputation of Herbfarm, I decided against it.  However, things changed the morning of the big day. I called up this company that offered hot air balloon rides and enquired if they have anything for the night. They did! And I checked the weather too.. it was bright, deep blue! Yay!! So this is it. I made the reservation and hung up.  I was told to be at this winery near home by 5pm.

This is where my uber planning skills shine.  I persuaded the hubby to get out of work by 3pm. I picked him up from work and drove home. There is a river trail by our place and we always wanted to run on this piece of the trail that we haven’t been to before. I also told him I wanted to play frisbee. I quickly got a bag and snuck his hat, scarf (I was told it might get cold in the balloon) and topped it with the frisbee. So far so good. I got him to wear nice and light clothes, comfortable shoes (because I wanted to take photos and he should look good, of course) We set out.

I headed out and drove towards the park.. instead of stopping at the entrance, I continued driving…to the winery. Narsi got a little suspicious at this point.. he was like, “What’s going on?” I told him that since he liked red wine so much I arranged a winery tour and a tasting event. He was over the top by now.. and was grinning left, right and center . I parked the car in the winery (we were 15 mins early)  I was looking around to construct the next phase of the surprise. I saw an estate up the hill and told him that we need to hike up. The darling that he is, started diligently walking upthe hill. I was constantly turning back and checking the parking lot to see if the balloon guys arrived. Not yet.

I was beginning to run out of trail now. We reached the estate on top of the hill, you see. A lady came out and seeing a lost look on my face she asked if we needed help. Narsi walked up to her and was about to ask something which is when I interrupted and said we are fine. She went inside.  And I remember right about now I started ROFLMAOing!! It was cutely hilarious. I checked the parking lot one more time and like a sweet sight to sore eyes, I spotted the balloon guys pull into the parking lot.  I told Narsi that the real surprise awaits us at the parking lot and walked back.

This is what he saw. He was confused, shocked and speechless. He thought it was a gigantic picnic basket. Yep, that’s my boy. Huge foodie.

The balloon guys team is comprised of 3 persons. One of them is the pilot and the other two are like ground control. Jim (GC guy#1) came up to us and presented a waiver. That’s when it dawned upon Narsi what this really was and he was S-H-O-C-K-E-D ! For like 10 mins he had a bewildered expression.

Usually, the team transports us to a “take off location”. But the weather and take-off conditions looked good to take off right from the parking lot. We walked up to a clearing and the paraphernalia were placed on the ground. A couple of volunteers (including Narsi) helped Bill, the pilot, getting the balloon up.

Filling air

Big …bigger.. bigggerrrr

Heating the air

He started the torch and there you go… a hot air balloon.  Bill briefed us about the various safety measures (there 3 couples going on the ride last night) and we got in to the basket one by one. 

Up ! Up !

Taking off..

Well what do you know.. this thing works. We started going up up up and up!! It was an exhilarating experience. Now let me tell about Narsi.. he gets excited about playing a free app. Like a silly app or some silly game can get him all jumpy and excited. And he is in this hot air balloon and he has like a smile. Just a smile. Oh, well! I think he was still digesting the fact that he is suspended mid-air. (and oh, he is still grinning)

We went up .. like a few thousand feet. We caught the most beautiful view of the Cascades, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker and the Puget Sound. We were drifting above a very affluent neighborhood (judging by the swimming pools, and the lavish tennis courts in each of the homes). After admiring the lavish homes, we drifted along to the beautiful Snohomish river. After sinking in more sights of the blue skies we were ready to devour the beautiful sunset.

Fellow balloon-riders:

Mt. Rainier with a golden blush.

And we finally landed! It was a fantastic experience!!! And the dude was still grinning!!!

To the person who makes my life worthwhile – Happpy Birthday, babe!!!!!!!!!

and there you go… A guide to surprising your loved one with a hot air balloon ride.