30 Before 30 Journey in a Year

Jump into a basket with 16 other people and soar high above the ground with a huge balloon and two propane tanks as your navigation instruments. Sounds like a combination for a bad time right? Actually, it was amazing! For my last blog post, I'm going to talk about my Hot Air Balloon experience in Napa Valley and why I selected this adventure. Overall, heights and I get along. I've zip-lined over enormous canyons and near volcanoes in Costa Rica and stepped onto the glass floor of the Skydeck Ledge in Chicago along with perching atop look-offs of many hikes. But, there's something about the uncertainty of riding in a balloon that even unnerved my heights loving heart. But that anxiety subsided after about 1.2 minutes in the air. I decided to take the Hot Air Balloon trip in Napa Valley because it's a beautiful way to see the area, and it's a very common attraction in the area. Our pilot had over 30 years piloting and ballooning experience and completed about 250

While my 30th birthday was back in September, my Napa trip ended up being more of a 30 after 30 item. The hubs and I had this trip planned for the July 4th weekend. However, we had to cancel as my father in law lost his battle with cancer at that time. And while we couldn't reschedule until November and technically miss my self-imposed deadline, I wanted to make sure the trip happened. Not only because I knew it would be a great trip but also to demonstrate that just because circumstances surrounding your goals may change that you can readjust and continue down the path. Now on with the trip - Napa is a wonderfully laid back, taste bud satisfying spot of beauty about an hour east of San Francisco. Here's a quick round up of the trip. With our rental car blazing across the Golden Gate Bridge, our first stop was Cline Cellars just south of Sonoma. A lovely, small winery, the tasting was complimentary (a rarity in wine country) and the tasting crew was a lot of fun. Try