It’s October, which basically is synonymous for hot air balloon season in places like Albuquerque. One year ago, I was thinking about Peter and I getting engaged soon, but I was definitely not thinking about a hot air balloon!
“What are you doing for Columbus Day?” Peter asked me a couple weeks before. Who does anything on Columbus Day?! I have never celebrated Columbus day in my life. Have you? That was the most suspicious statement I had heard in awhile. I heard, “do you want to get engaged on Monday?” We had been talking about getting engaged for awhile, awhhiiillle. The flip side of this story is that Peter is incredibly unique and thoughtful, and he has no shortage of larger than life ideas or the faith to make it happen. I didn’t know what was coming for our engagement, but I knew it was coming, and apparently it was coming on Columbus day!
Columbus Day: October 9th, 2017. All Peter told me about this day was that we were going on a “joy ride,” and I had been instructed not to ask any further questions about it. Joy ride. That means a road trip? Or a flight! We had done several day trips to different cities, so it made sense. 6:30am rolled around and he picked me up from my apartment. I’m thinking, yep, early morning flight. Then… wait. What? He blindfolded me (and added in earbuds with Mutemath playing, not complaining about that). You know what, no biggie. I’m smart. I’m gonna pretend like I’m driving in my mind and feel the turns in the car and figure out where we’re going.
You’re probably thinking, “why you gotta try and figure it out? Just be surprised!” Okay. I like being surprised. But not if I know I’m being surprised! That’s the scary part. Right?! So, back to me being a sneak. I was following the turns in my head and mentally tracking the road. But he didn’t make the turn to get on the highway! And that’s the way to get to… everywhere! East, West, airport, etc. The car stopped and I mentally placed us at HEB. …..HEB? Maybe he’s getting gas. Okay, maybe not. He’s been gone 15 minutes.
Real life – we were at HEB. With friends and the balloon pilot – they were figuring out if the weather was clear enough to fly the balloon. The day was supposed to be foggy and windy which is no good for hot air balloons – the pilot was saying they shouldn’t try to fly that day. Looking back on this info feels like rewatching a movie that you know turns out okay, but you’re in the really stressful scene that still makes you wonder if it’s all gonna turn out okay. Mega props to Peter – he literally prayed for that weather until we had a miracle! The fog went away and the wind stopped and we were ready to go!
Back to the car… I’m still blindfolded, still jamming the Mutemath album. Time was passing! I just wanted to know what was happening! We ended up transferring cars and sitting in the back seat together – and made 4 or 5 more stops to who knows where.
Real life – we were in the back of the pilot’s car, and he was checking out places to launch the balloon.
And then…. everything unfolded in the fastest two minutes of my life! I heard a voice I didn’t recognize said, “Now!! Come now!” My blindfold and earbuds got tossed aside, and in the next few seconds I got out of the suburban and saw a massive hot air balloon billowing before my eyes! Peter had to jump in the basket first, because it was starting to lift up without him. I signed my life away on a release waiver ASAP and jumped in… and we LITERALLY started floating away! No second guessing, no thinking twice, we were up and away!
As we were taking off, we saw several friends and family waving to us from below. Somehow I was so lost in the moment that I didn’t really recognize faces (legitimately only remember seeing 2 of them), but it was fun to know that our friends were watching! So there we were, gliding over the rooftops of our city. A little drone followed us up there and got some epic footage!
People always ask me if the ride was scary – it wasn’t! It didn’t feel anything like a plane taking off, and the height factor wasn’t anything compared to the sheer terror I felt while rock climbing in the beginner section of the gym. Just imagine that you’re in the UP movie, just slowly floating away – that’s what it feels like, but without the stomach sinking rollercoaster business… and without all the heartbreak. Ok nvm, you get it.)
We were up there a long time, and went a long way! We covered lots of ground in Katy, and even passed over the highway at one point. Our friends were driving around, chasing our balloon so they could show up when we landed for the proposal! The balloon captain had been let in on the idea that Peter was proposing, but he didn’t really grasp the timeline, so he was casually trying to give him cues when to propose.
As with all adventures, there is the unexpected! There were lots of trees and houses and not a lot of open spaces when we were trying to land. We definitely splash landed in a pond and then the balloon kept traveling enough to roll us out onto the bank! It added to the thrill of the day!
A couple minutes later, our friends and family came running around the corner and Peter proposed on the bank of the little pond. Such a happy day! We all went out for brunch and exchanged pictures and video and drone footage and relived it over and over.
WHAT. A. SURPRISE! I have never even had the idea of a hot air balloon ride in my life! I was so shocked that I had legitimately been surprised – and it was so perfect! I can’t give Peter enough credit for dreaming it up and praying it through!
And now you know, if you ever see a hot air balloon card or ornament or trinket, I WANT IT.
