Up, Up and Away!

When Louie Gray’s wife said, “I got you something,” he thought it was a tool or something. Then she said, “I bought you a trip to go on the hot air balloon.” Louie said, “I am so happy she bought them for me, I really enjoyed myself.” He went up in a hot air balloon at the Cornwall Lift-off with Barry and Brenda Thompson, and Marie Seymour. On the day they went, Louie said about 27 balloons went up in a matter of about 40 minutes. Louie explained that first, the Remax balloons go up; they test the flying conditions and when they give the green light the rest can follow. Louie said they went up about sixth.

Louie described the view as fantastic; from the balloon you could see the whole community. People were in the streets and their yards yelling up to them. Once, they flew so low they grabbed some leaves off a tree! They landed in a field in Cornwall and just as Barry and Louie helped the pilot blow up the balloon, they helped him take it down. Louie said their pilot was great and at the end, as part of a tradition, the pilot broke out the champagne, made a little speech and toasted the flight. “It was so nice, it was a great experience,” Louie concluded.