September 2025
by Brian Kastl
My mom Suzi, sister Jessie, and I had my mom’s dream hot air balloon trip come true.
We flew into the Reno airport and drove to a beautiful hotel on the water edge of Lake Tahoe.
My mom had the chance to dip her toes into the crystal-clear healing waters at the hotel’s beach and enjoy gorgeous sunsets from the room.
Soon it was time for the biggest highlight of the trip.
Waking up before sunrise, we drove a short distance to a marina where the hot air balloon journey began.
We boarded an aircraft carrier boat (the hot air balloon is the aircraft).
This balloon trip is the only one to launch and land from a boat.
We boarded the hot air balloon basket and before we knew it, we were rising.
The 1-2 hour experience was magical, and it concluded by landing back down on the boat that followed our path.
A couple days later we drove to Reno to catch the Reno Hot Air Balloon Festival.
Pushing my mom by wheelchair through paths to the park in the dark, we made it in time to see the balloons lit up and over 30 balloons launch and hover around the park.
My mom’s favorite part of the Dream Balloon Adventure was rising high into the skies, up to 13,000 ft elevation.
She loved to see how quickly the balloon could rise and fall without barely noticing.
We threw organic popcorn off the side of the basket to see it float *upwards* as we were falling. The views were spectacular!
Waking up early for balloon launches was a worthwhile challenge
and it actually provided a sense of achievement to see the sunrises!
My mom loved seeing the Hot Air Balloon Festival “Dawn Patrol”,
which involved the most expert balloon pilots launching in the full darkness
of the night, so that we could we see the beautiful colors and patterns
of the balloons light up right above us!
This adventure showed my mom that so much of life is still possible, even beyond what a person without ALS might do, despite having ALS.
Even after the dream trip concluded, the experience instilled in her the feelings and courage to stay as active as possible to look forward to the next adventure ahead!
The hot air balloon company was incredibly accommodating.
They provided a stool in the balloon basket for my mom to sit on.
It worked and helped her, but she commented that a small chair with a backrest would be preferable for someone in that position in the future.
We are beyond grateful that the Gleason Foundation made this trip possible.
We would have never been able to afford the trip otherwise.
The greatest gift was that the trip gave my mom a goal to look forward to, and the gift continues to give because she now continues to stay as healthy as possible to continue pursuing mini daily and weekend adventures.
