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Guests fly up and away as they enjoy a Magical Adventure

The air was cool, and guests began to make a large circle as they watched what lay before them: a giant balloon sprawled out over a massive blue tarp, getting prepped for its morning flight.

Magical Adventure Balloon Rides, a hot air balloon company that flies in Temecula Wine Country, Palm Desert and Del Mar, was started in 2003 by CEO Denni Barrett.

Along with ballooning, Barrett also flies helicopters and airplanes and captains sailboats.

"Most people are afraid of heights," he said, including himself in that category. "In a balloon, it is very stable and you don't experience any turbulence or things you might feel on a roller coaster. In fact, you will feel more motion in an elevator than you feel in a hot air balloon."

Barrett hadn't been looking to start a hot air balloon business. In fact, he had started to grow grapes and make wine privately but ended up selling his land and bought the supplies needed to start his own hot air balloon business – after one day experiencing a balloon ride for himself.

"The fact is that every flight is different, and hot air ballooning is an imperfect science," Barrett said. "In most cases, you can't see your destination when you take off. However, in hot air ballooning, we are at the mercy of the wind. We pick our launch site with our landing site in mind but must have about a dozen working plans in mind throughout the flight should things change."

This unpredictability is what makes it fun.

"It is a very peaceful feeling like you are standing still and the earth is slowly turning beneath you," he said.

On Oct. 21, 20 people gathered together at 6:30 a.m., waiting for their balloon ride. Some had been before, while others were experiencing it for the first time. Couples celebrated anniversaries or birthdays and came out from places like Colorado to come to Temecula Wine Country for a ride with Magical Adventure.

Just as the sky began to dance with orange light, four of the grounds crew helped roll out the balloon. Then, they turned a large industrial fan on and pointed it toward the inside of the balloon, helping fill it with air as they opened up the rest of it.

The pilot, Phil Brandt, has been flying for 30 years and would be leading the flight that morning. The balloon was called the Red Dawn Raider and had a large pirate skull across its sides.

Guests watched as the balloon began to be fueled with fire, heating up the inside and causing it to slowly rise off the tarp. Just as it rose, the basket, which had been on its side attached to the balloon, now stood upright.

Once guests had made their way into the basket, the balloon made its ascent.

It doesn't quite feel like moving – in fact, some didn't realize the basket had even left the ground.

After rising above the clouds, a faint outline of a circular rainbow could be seen around the outlined shadow of the balloon.

"The reason you see the bottom part of the rainbow, which you normally wouldn't see if you're standing on the ground... this, because you're suspended in the air, the rainbows a full circle, and it's centered where you're standing in the basket," Brandt said.

The more heat that's added, the more the balloon will rise – less heat, the balloon will descend.

As the balloon made its way across Temecula Wine Country, the balloon was constantly being fueled. There are four different burners, and Brandt alternated between them to draw the fuel out.

Barrett's first balloon flights were in Napa, but when he decided he wanted to do it full time, he started in Temecula.

"From my 33 years of flying experience, I can tell you Temecula is one of the best places to experience a hot air balloon ride," Barrett said.

At the Temecula location, balloons fly in the mornings, while they fly in the afternoons at Del Mar. Their Palm Desert location is seasonal, flying from October through April in both mornings and evenings.

While weather is a factor, they manage to get around 300 flyable days a year, according to Barrett.

The flight landed on a patch of land by one of the nearby winery owner's houses. Before guests were given drinks and refreshments, Brandt quoted them the balloonist prayer.

"The winds have welcomed you with softness; the sun has blessed you with his warm hands. You have flown so high and so well that God has joined you in laughter and set you gently back into the loving arms of mother earth."

For more information on Magical Adventure Balloon Rides and their flights, visit https://www.hotairfun.com/.

Lexington Howe can be reached by email at [email protected].

 

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