[Image]

On the morning I moved to Sonoma County, there was a single hot air balloon floating over a vineyard just off the highway.

I knew this was the place for me to live.

I’ve never been up in one because it costs about $600 for two people to go in my area, which is kind of insane.

[Image]

Still, I wish hot air balloons were a major form of travel. They are so magical (a word I hate, but still) floating in the sky.

[Image]

“The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology,” says Wikipedia.

They were invented in France.

“Technical illustration from 1818 showing early balloon designs.”

[Image]

Sometimes I think I would like to learn how to fly a hot air balloon. They don’t seem scary like hang gliding, for example.

[Image]

And then I would buy a hot air balloon that I would keep in my backyard, and occasionally I would take it up in the sky.

[Image]

I wonder how much a used hot air balloon costs. Less than $600?