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Birds (From page 26) problem of the wind keeping the air out. of the balloon be- came apparent. But the balloon's crew knew their business well, and it wasn't long before Guy and I got the word to jump aboard. The basket, made out of heavy wicker, is loaded with two propane tanks, and enough room for three passengers.I swung my leg over the basket ang-dropped down in and then helped Guy and he climbed aboard. The pilot, who had been in- flating the balloon with the two propane burners suspended above the basket was already in sO we were ready to go. On his command, the ground crew pulled the rope, which was tied to the back of their truck to hold us down, and we bagan our ascent. Words really can't describe the feeling of floating 500' above the ground with no sound but the occassional blast of the propane burner as it heats the air tokeep us aloft. In fact there is no real sensa- tation of speed with ballooning because you are travelling the same speed as the wind, which means even on a cold day it is very comforatable because there is no windwith which to contend. We were the wind! Our half-hour trip under blue skies and bright sun brought us over Prince Albert. We were not too high at this point, and we waved to kids playing in back: yards, and were hu- moured by the antics of dogs as they saw this huge red, white and blue balloon passing over- head. Quietly we slipped by the new Victorian Village project, where a number of houses are under construction; across 7A highway, then Queen Street, and over the top of the beautiful houses that line Cochrane Street. - Our path, drifting with the wind then took us towards the lake; passing over the Scout Hall, Kent Estates, and High- land Beach before slipping out over the frozen water of Lake Scugog. Here we silently dropped our altitude and saw a number of CHESTERFIELD SUITES - LOVE SEATS SECTIONALS - MATTRESSES ~ -- A Large Selection -- LESS THAN McKEEN FURNITURE PORT PERRY NEEDLECRAFT 108 Water St. 985-7027 SALE SALE SALE skaters and hikers cnjoying the vast frozen lake. At one point, just cast of the' Castle Harbour subdivision, we saw a long pressure-ridge stretching from one shore to the other, and near the west shore of the lake a truck which had plunged through the ice with only the rear end of the vehicle protruding from the ice. We then began to float back over land, and as we ap- proached the old Honey Farm our pilot told us to bend out knces and brace ourself for the landing. It didn't take much coaxing for either Guy or I to heed his warning as we floated lower and lowcr to the ground. Our first contact with the ground, just south of the old barn on the Honey farm threw us forward, then the balloon lifted off the ground again. The pilot decided to land a little - further to the north, so with a few large blasts from the bumcrs we slowly began to lift again. This was probably the only time during the trip Guy and | . became a little nervous, as it did not appear that we would lift enough to get over the silo next to the bam. Closer and closer it came as we ever so slowly drifted with the wind. But a few more good blasts of hot air and we were up and over the silo. Our landing in a com ficld on the north side of the barn was not what you would call smooth, but we did make it. As the basket made its first contact with the ground, we were thrown forward once again, and then the balloon lift- ed us up again. The second hit was not as hard and this time we stayed down, with the wind dragging the basked across the fozen com stubble at a 45 degree an- gle, while we held on so we wouldn't fall out. PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, January 26, 1988 -- 27 It didn't take too long before we came to a stop-and the bal- loon gently laid down across the field only half inflated with us on our hands and knees in the bottom of the basket. We cnjoyed a couple of cold drinks at a local restaurant later and talked about the adventure, sikkens Cetol TS EASY TO APPLY: -- One product does the entire job: -- Dries in 4 to 6 Hours EASY TO LIVE WITH: -- Translucent satin finish -- Protects window sill against moisture eye view fromballoon with both Guy and I agreeing it was one of the most enjoyable experiences of our life. The Re/Max balloon crew proved to know their business inside out and I would like to thank both them and Guy for the opportunity to experience ballooning. INTERIOR stains, seals and finishes. sikkens "CENTRAL PAINT & WALLPAPER 295 Ritson Road South -- OSHAWA -- 434-3939 - winter - i bn iW vw ee os a'e'a 03 LE AEA Radi