FOLEY — What's on your bucket list? Skydiving? Scuba diving? Climbing Mount Everest? On Friday, May 3, an item on my childhood bucket list got checked off: going up in a hot air balloon.
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FOLEY — What's on your bucket list? Skydiving? Scuba diving? Climbing Mount Everest? On Friday, May 3, an item on my childhood bucket list got checked off: going up in a hot air balloon.
The 20th-annual Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival took over OWA Parks & Resort May 2-4. Over 50 hot air balloons from across the country rolled into Foley to light up the sky and delight visitors.
Friday at 5:30 a.m., The Groovy Goat in Downtown OWA was packed with people drinking coffee and chatting as they waited for instructions. Each year, when the weather cooperates, balloon pilots take festival sponsors and a handful of media for a float over the area. Reporter Natalie Williamson and I were paired up with Fred Poole.
Poole lives in Meridian, Mississippi, and is a self-described aviation enthusiast. If it flies, he is probably licensed to take it up. He holds a private pilot fixed-wing license, seaplane license as well as a commercial LTA (lighter than air) with airborne heater (hot air balloon) license. He also enjoys jumping out of planes and holds a skydiving D-License (expert level).
After the pilots received information on wind speeds and the takeoff location, Poole told us to stick close because he likes to move fast. As soon as the green light was given, we dashed to the parking lot, jumped in with the crew and headed toward the Snook Family YMCA.
Poole's balloon company, named Champagne Sunrise, is a family affair. His wife, Lori, is the crew chief and his 17-year-old son, Devon, works as master crew chief. His father, Charles Poole, is also part of the crew.
According to Poole, there are only around 3,000 hot air balloon pilots in the United States.
On the drive to the field, I asked him how he got into hot air balloons. He said he had crewed for a hot air balloon in the 1990s but was always on the ground. He wanted to be in the sky. When he learned of a balloon pilot in his hometown, he began taking lessons from him. In 2011, he became a licensed balloon pilot. The rest is history.
As we neared the field, Poole lowered the TV screen in his SUV and played a safety video. I was a little surprised he had a video, but he said he operates as a business on the weekends, and it is easier to have customers watch a video while he and the crew set up the balloon. As we pulled onto the field and found an open spot, the crew set to work as we watched the magic happen.
Along with his family crew, Ben Eakes, a student of Poole's, Karin Miller and Eric Kiehle were there to supplement the crew. The field quickly filled with teams lugging 300-pound bags with hot air balloon envelopes and massive baskets. The envelopes were stretched out in the damp grass, the basket lay on its side and was connected as high-powered fans roared as they filled the envelopes with air. Poole's balloon is 75 feet tall. He estimates the basket, envelope and propane weigh around 1,100 pounds and can lift 2,200 pounds into the air.
Everywhere you turned, colorful balloons began to fill the sky as the propone-fueled flames heated the air inside the envelope. As Williamson and I snapped photos and stood in awe of what was happening before our eyes, Poole yelled it was time to load up. The door of his basket stood open, beckoning us to enter as the heat from the flame warmed our foreheads. Poole's father loaded into the basket with us, and the four of us were aloft before we knew it.
To be honest, I'm not sure how long we floated over Foley. Homeowners clad in pajamas and robes with coffee in hand stood in their yards to watch the spectacle overhead. In between the sound of the flames, the air was silent and peaceful. It became clear why Poole spends his weekends taking people into the sky in his beautiful balloon.
While in the air, Poole described how he steers and navigates the balloon, floating up and down to catch air to push him in the direction he desires. Before long, Poole pointed to a field and said that is where we would land. As we began to descend, we brushed the top of a pecan tree and were instructed to bend at the knees and hold on to the rope handles. We landed quickly and softer than I anticipated. We were ushered out as the crew set to work to bring the envelope down. Everything was packed up in less than 20 minutes.
Once back in the OWA parking lot, the Pooles popped two Champagne corks as Fred recited from memory the Balloonist Prayer:
"The winds have welcomed you with softness. The sun has blessed you with its warm hands. You have flown so high and so well that God has joined you in your laughter and set you gently back again into the loving arms of Mother Earth. Congratulations. You're now aeronauts."
The crew handed us each a souvenir, the cork and metal that surrounds it were joined to make a small hot air balloon. Poole gave us each a pin designed to look just like his balloon, a magnet and sticker. The balloon we went up in will never return to the Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival because he is awaiting delivery of his newest, custom-designed balloon.
We thanked Poole and the entire team for an amazing experience, all before most people got to their office for the day. If you ever have the opportunity to take a balloon flight, do it. You only live once.
