They were 200 feet above the ground, gliding over the vineyards, ranchlands and rooftops of the Temecula Valley in a hot-air balloon, when he summoned up his nerve and proposed. An hour later the newly engaged couple were back on the ground, all smiles, sipping Champagne. “She said yes!” he announced. Everyone applauded.
Eight balloons were in the air that morning, all brightly colored, ever so gently rising and falling and offering everyone on board spectacular vistas of rolling hills and distant mountain ranges to the east and west.
Though not everyone was aware of it, as hearty balloonists we were taking part in an aviation tradition that dates back all the way to the 1700s in Paris. So, it was only appropriate that as we rose into the sky and cast our gaze to the north, we could just make out the city of Perris, California.
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