The Great Park Balloon Ride

Today we went to Irvine to the site where the Great Park is being built, I had read that there were free balloon rides.


We arrived a little after the 10 a.m. opening time and waited in the visitor's center for 20 minutes or so before boarding a "flight". Anna is already feeling a little nervous about the ride.


Fortunately her fears went away as we walked onto a solid-fenced and netted-in circular platform, went up about 500 feet into the air, and enjoyed the views.


You can see the small square visitor's center and the surrounding land which used to be an air corps station.


The balloon is tethered so we weren't going anywhere. It was quite a peaceful ride.


Whew, we made it! Free balloon rides at the Great Park are only available until the end of the year, so catch a ride if you can.