My first brush with hot air ballooning was in 1979. An advertiser (McCaul Tire and Appliance) for the station I worked at had a big promotion that included a hot air balloon. Someone decided it would be fun to broadcast live from the balloon so we held a contest and the winner (Keith Williams) got to go along for the ride. [First 3 photos below]

A year later I hired the same crew as an anniversary present for Barb (and me). Barb and took a flight on beautiful October morning. From a mile up we could see the Mississippi River in the distance. We also did some tethered flights for our friends, which included a champaign christening for first-timers.