Seven years ago, on a warm Saturday afternoon, Lisa and I were married. We’ve had a number of adventures together since then. Some of them have been fun. Others have been trying. Driving in heavy traffic at night through Waikiki side streets is one of the latter!

With my birthday and our anniversary falling around the same date, Lisa planned quite a surprise this year that added yet another fun adventure to our list. We spent the weekend at a lovely bed and breakfast in Oregon wine country. The DreamGiver’s Inn was a perfect base for our activities. It was so quiet and a great place to unwind. We also did some wine tasting at the famed Stoller Family Estate.

The highlight of the weekend, though, was our hot air balloon flight with Vista Balloon Adventures. Apparently, both of us had always wanted to try this but had never expressed it to one another. Big points to my wife for the creative idea!

We flew on the Thunder with pilot and co-owner Roger Anderson. It was a beautiful morning and just the right temperature. Weather prevented us from leaving from the air park in Newberg, so we drove a few miles down the road to the farming community of St. Paul. The flight lasted about an hour and was followed by brunch.

Soaring 700 to 800 feet above the earth afforded a fantastic view of all the fields and their color patterns. Everything was so peaceful and pretty from that altitude. The wind gently carried the balloon above the landscape with altitude determined by the hot air inside the canopy.

Rather than describing the flight in words, here’s the view from a few hundred feet:

Soft landings! It was a wonderful weekend with great memories made. Perhaps next year…skydiving?!