If you haven't checked out part one of our 1000 Island travels just yet, it's never too late to catch a glimpse of royalty:) Memories from day two of this trip have a special place in my heart:) Just to give you some context...this trip was done a couple of years ago. Yang was still a student and I had just started working. With a crunched budget, the experience that we signed up for on day two of our 1000 Island travels was definitely a stretch for our pockets. But we made it happen! Yay! And we made sure to cherish every minute of it. I remember it so vividly. Super excited to share our tales with you. Where there is a will and a wish...there is a way (#modifiedproverbs; #referenceonfleek?). This was also our first visiting a farm in the US and what an experience it turned out to be!
Day 2- Champagne Hot Air Baloon Tour
After having spent a day exploring the 1000 Islands by water, it was time to get an aerial vista of nature’s beauty! What better way to do that than an awesome hot air balloon ride. This was our first experience on a hot air balloon and truly a memorable one- worth documenting.
We chose to do an early morning sunrise ride. Balloon tours usually take off at sunrise or sunset because that is when the winds are the calmest. We managed to wake up bright and early and drag ourselves out of bed for our little adventure, sleep deprived, yet adrenaline driven for our day!
Hot air balloon rides are supposed to be calm and relaxing. The adventure to this activity is that your balloon goes with the mood of the wind. You start at one location and fly away with the wind, not knowing where you will land! A ground chasing team will chase your balloon down and follow you to help when it’s time to land. Oh the thrills that lie in uncertainty! Our total experience lasted for about two hours from inflating our balloon to riding it to deflating it! A-moo-zing times (#Alaska Moose reference!).
We expected the ride to be much calmer that it actually was. We were caught off-guard by the noise of the hot flame gushing and hissing away in the midst of the serenity of our ride. A hot flame has to be lit to keep the hot air balloon afloat (Hot air….hot flame…hot air balloon…get it?).
Your wicker basket will have a burner that blows out a hot flame towards the inflated balloon every couple of seconds. This created a loud unexpected noise every few seconds and it definitely took some adjusting to the sound in the middle of the serenity around.
All in all, it was a pleasure to ride on a balloon up in the sky, over the river, brushing tree tops, and enjoying our little adventure.
Visit to Home Again Alpacca Farm
So just as we were almost ready to head back and call it an end to our trip, I couldn't squash the burning urge to add just one more one small activity to our travel before we bid adieu to the wonders of the 1000 Islands.
A random Trip Advisor search recommended a visit to a local Alpacca farm. What a pleasant find. After this experience, we have almost always added a farm or some sort of animal interaction segment to our itineraries! Reindeer farm sound vaguely familiar from our Alaska days?
Alpaccas are such warm and fuzzy creatures. They resemble small llamas in appearance, but are different from llamas. They have the cutest teeth..they're curious as ever and come oh so close to sniff out your hair too:) The staff at the farm were so warm and friendly. The alpaccas are adorable and nothing more needs to be said. The photos just speak for themselves. These cuties will definitely melt your hearts:)
Looks like Yang found his soulmate!
And I even picked up a mini alpacca doll with a tiny knitted cap for a souvenier! Super cute:) Love these amusing animals!
