Temecula is a picturesque town in Riverside County, Southern California. It is a popular tourist destination known for wine making, antique stores, a casino, golfing and our reason for traveling here: Hot air ballooning! Killing two birds with one stone on this trip: celebrating a birthday and checking an item off of our bucket list.
The old town area of Temecula, with its western town flavor, has some great antique shops and specialty stores. They make for a fun afternoon.
The Old Town Rooter Company
I had heard there was a store called that offered 100 choices of Root Beer, so we headed out to find it.
I love root beer, so did this sound perfect? Yes. Yes it did. Did I check to make sure the store was still open for business?
No. No, I did not.
Closed permanently. Not that it would have spoiled the weekend – the hot air balloon ride was the main event. Still, I was disappointed. I had visions of sampling exotic root beer from other countries. While doing some research for this post, I discovered that in many countries the flavor or smell of root beer corresponds to cough syrup or a pain-relieving patch. Come to think of it, all the cherry cough syrup I’ve ingested over my lifetime is probably the reason I don’t much care for cherry flavored anything.
Wine
I’m a tequila girl and he likes whiskey and neither of us is a wine connoisseur. We have never been wine tasting together. Temecula is known for its wine, so when in Rome. . .
We chose three vineyards for our initiation. Between them, they produce a variety of specialties and are geographically close together, making them ideal for a lazy Saturday afternoon of sampling.
Turns out I was more interested in the beauty of the vineyards.
We were there during the “Crush” season, the months (usually between August and October) when the grapes are full from a summer of sunshine and ready for harvest.
The sight of the grapes definitely held more allure than its liquid counterpart in the tasting rooms. It was overcast, the fog still kissing the tree tops. One of those cool mornings that lead into hot afternoons that California is known for as summer turns to fall.
The Temecula Creek Inn
We stayed at the Temecula Creek Inn, our room nestled on the edge of a golf course. The hotel gifted us with a birthday bottle of Temecula wine in our room – a generous gesture. I would recommend this hotel, it is well appointed, relatively close to everything and reasonably priced. All things I look for when choosing a hotel.
Nearby Pechanga Casino offers complementary shuttles to and from the Temecula Creek Inn, so we headed out to make an early evening of it. Not our usual practice when on a weekend away, but we needed to be up before dawn the next day.
The Way Up
The next morning, bleary-eyed and sipping coffee, we met our fellow hot air balloon passengers at Europa Village. SO excited! (And a little nervous, truth be told.)
We piled in a van and drove to the launch spot. After laying the heat-resistant nylon balloon out on a tarp, the pilot and his team used large fans to inflate it.
As the sun came up, so did the balloons!
Removing the fans as the “burner” takes over inflating the balloon, bringing it upright.
Hot air balloons fly as a result of hotter air temperature inside the balloon than outside it. The pilots can control the balloon by heating more air or allowing the air to cool off. The ideal time for ballooning is typically in the morning, when the temperatures are cooler and the wind is lower.
We climbed in the basket and away we go!
The balloon floated up slowly, smoothly. My nervousness fell away as I marveled at the spectacular panorama of the Temecula Valley.
I found myself lost in the incredible view and kept forgetting we were flying at 4,000 feet! Too soon, it was time to come back down to earth. In case you were wondering, the landing was just as slow and smooth as our ascent.
Still “high” (so to speak) from our balloon ride, we gathered back at Europa Village to receive our souvenir certificate of flight, enjoy a continental breakfast and a ceremonial champagne toast (grape juice for the kids).
Thank you A Grape Escape!
Temecula is a great weekend getaway – whether you want to go back to the old west, out to the vineyards and golf courses or up in the clouds. Check out the link below for more things to do:
What a gorgeous local place to visit! I love the photos!
Beautiful! This is on my bucket list!