I flew on a recent summer morning with long-time local balloon pilot, David Bradley of California Dreamin’ Balloon Adventures. Bradley owns the company along with his wife, Gail, and has been piloting balloons since the 1970s, with well over 9,000 hours of balloon flying time under his belt. The couple has been running California Dreamin’ since 1985 and has built up relationships around the valley. Several wine country hotels refer their guests specifically to them.

The experience from start to finish is about 3 hours. Here’s how the morning unfolded. 

My day began at 4:30 am at Vindemia Winery, also owned by the Bradleys, and where all California Dreamin’ adventures begin. It was pitch black at that early hour, but an attendant appeared at my car door with a flashlight to guide me to the check-in table underneath a large tent.

A light fog hung over parts of the valley that morning. Bradley and one of his pilots were under the tent brainstorming the time and best place for the balloon launch. “Everyone has different philosophies about dealing with fog…. I almost always find a way to take off,” he grinned. He’s not interested in disappointing customers who show up before dawn with a cancelled ride.

Soon enough, my fellow passengers began to trickle in. There was a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary with a private ride, a young couple from North Carolina in town for a friend’s wedding, and a young boy from Orange County who was there with his parents. His mom had seen videos of Temecula balloon rides and decided it would be a fun family adventure.

Required waivers signed, we climbed into vans and were off to scout the perfect takeoff location. The anniversary couple and their pilot in one van, Bradley and the rest of us in the other. We stopped first in the parking lot of South Coast Winery for the bathrooms and to meet up with Bradley’s two-man crew, who hitched a trailer with the balloon and basket to the van. Bradley sent a little balloon with a light attached up into the still dark sky for a wind test to see the direction and speed the balloon took.

The team decided on a pasture in horse country, just beyond some of Temecula’s most popular wineries, and soon, we were back in the van and driving down wine country side roads.

Getting ready to fly

The sun was coming up, but the summer moon was still visible overhead. Bradley and a crew of two started unpacking our balloon. An enormous tarp was spread on the ground to protect the silk balloon. Once unfurled, the 58-foot diameter balloon was first inflated with a large fan, then with burners to blow the hot air. When the balloon was mostly full, the basket was attached, and Bradley climbed in and, using his body weight and a crew member, turned the balloon upright. It was pretty dramatic; see the video below:

We were surrounded by crews for other hot air balloons, also getting ready for takeoff.

California Dreamin’ has baskets that fit up to 15 people. This one was smaller, with just enough room for 6 passengers and a pilot. I was originally tagging along just to watch the takeoff process, but when he was ready to take off, Bradley turned to me and smiled, “I have room, want to come along?” Without hesitation, and with only a minor amount of struggle, I clambered over the four-foot-high basket wall and took my place. Bradley pointed out the one safety element inside the basket, the “oh shit ropes”—two rope handles for each person to hang on to when needed. The crew took a few photos with our phones, were told to hold the ropes and bend our knees, and up we went.

By the time passengers are loaded, the balloon is apparently more than ready to take off, and before I even registered that we were moving, I looked out and realized we were soaring low over the other ballooners still on the ground. I’m not sure what I expected to feel. A jolt? A little fear? Maybe a little nausea? There was none of that, just a gentle drift and an exhilaration as the balloon went up.

The flight

We flew over horse farms, citrus groves, and a few wine country estates. We watched coyotes running through the trees, birds and rabbits zipping through vineyards, and the sun as it rose. The morning was chilly, but the hot air from the burners kept everyone warm as we flew, and since balloons fly with the wind, there wasn’t even a breeze.

Soon enough, our neighboring balloons were up in the air too, and we floated together over vineyards, past Lake Skinner and Bottaia Winery, and over Wilson Creek and Monte de Oro wineries. We moved along at a good clip, around 10 to 15 miles per hour, with Bradley controlling the elevation by pulling ropes and blasting hot air into the balloon. Pilots can only steer so much, though. The balloon goes where the wind takes it.

On some tours in the valley, you may hear stories of the Old West postal route that stopped in Temecula, the history of the Pechanga Band of Indians, or maybe even a few tall tales of ghost and gun fights in Old Town. Bradley seems to revel in the slightly less savory stories of wealthy drug dealers and eccentrics who built homes far off the beaten track beyond wine country. “See that house down there? Drug dealers. And that one? There was a murder.” He pointed out an enormous pink house and told us it had been taken apart in Los Angeles and put back together in Temecula.

Salty tales aside, Bradley also pointed out the Hale Telescope at the Mount Palomar Observatory, Big Bear Mountain, and gave some tips for wineries to try. Bradley is a fan of Leoness Cellars, specifically for their Grenache. He’s also a competitive balloon racer, and told us about winning a healthy prize purse of $7,500 at a race in Louisville, Kentucky, and used it all to buy bourbon barrels for his winery, much to the dismay of Gail.

Landing the balloon

After about an hour, Bradley’s focus shifted from storytelling to communicating with his ground crew about where he thought we might be landing. This is not something the pilots have a lot of control over. They planned for an area behind Lorimar Winery, but ultimately we landed a little farther, in a field off Old Anza Road, the crew breaking our speed by grabbing the basket as we neared. Once again, we were instructed to put phones away, grab the “oh shit ropes,” and bend our knees as the crew pulled us to the ground. Another balloon landed in the field nearby.

While the crew struggled to pack up the balloon (“the sleeping bag from hell,” they called it), Bradley poured glasses of prosecco mimosas and gave ideas for where to go for breakfast at that still early hour. Once the balloon was packed up, we piled back into the van and drove back to Vindemia, where we had left our cars. A happy and full morning was had by all, and memories to last a lifetime, and quite honestly, I’m ready to do it all again.

A few tips to make your morning more comfortable.

• Make reservations, there are no last-minute balloon rides: California Dreamin’ website
• Dress in layers. The morning starts off cold, but warms up under the hot air.
• Wear clothing that you’re able to move easily in, you’ll need to climb over the wall of a four foot basket.
• Wear shoes that can handle rough, uneven terrain. See photos above.