The View From a Hot Air Balloon
Plus, take advantage of our ’Save Before Black Friday’ sale!
“The saying goes that your first ride costs the price of the ride, but your second ride costs the price of buying a balloon.”
—Drew Egerton, Chief Pilot and Co-Owner of Air-Olina Aviation in Statesville, North Carolina
This week, we share an excerpt from our Fall 2025 feature, The Air Up There, and present our Save Before Black Friday Sale!
The Air Up There
By Elizabeth Poland Shugg
Any aeronaut will tell you: Floating peacefully above the world isn’t just about chasing sunsets and defying gravity. It’s a culture. Way of life. Adventure in the sky.
Ballooning provides what many believe is the most magnificent view of our world—its backroads, mountains, valleys, and oceans. And … fall in North Carolina may just be the best time and place to try it.
“I would argue that some of the best flying in the world is in North Carolina in October. When the leaves are changing colors, it’s a magical sight from above,” says Drew Egerton, chief pilot and co-owner of Air-Olina in Statesville, North Carolina.
Mark Twain’s words in Roughing It sum up the feeling many balloonists experience while soaring across the sky. “The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn’t it be? It is the same the angels breathe.”
William Shakespeare wrote in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “My soul is in the sky.” And Brazilian aeronaut and sportsman Alberto Santos Dumant once said, “the balloon seems to stand still in the air while the earth flies past underneath.”
There are, of course, more pragmatic descriptions. “My two recollections are that the trees looked like broccoli and the cars looked like Micro Machines,” Egerton recalls of his first ride, when he was just 4 years old. “Eighties kids will remember those.”
Save Before Black Friday Sale
We have a limited number of back issues of our Summer, Spring, and Fall editions available that will make a perfect holiday gift you can either send alone or bundle with a gift print subscription. Here are the details.
Bundle Backroad Portfolio individual issues with a print subscription!
Click on your choice below to place an order. Indicate which issue(s) you would like to purchase when you fill out the purchase form.
Gift subscription + one back issue: $70 > Click HERE to order
Gift subscription + two back issues: $80 > Click HERE to order
Gift subscription + three back issues: $90 > Click HERE to order
Purchase a Backroad Portfolio Issue Individually
Click on your choice below to place an order. Indicate which issue(s) you would like to purchase when you fill out the purchase form.
One back issue: $15 > Click HERE to order
Two back issues: $26 > Click HERE to order
Three back issues: $36 > Click HERE to order
Giveaway!
Enter to Win a Louise Purse, Penny Wallet, and Acorn Bell Ornament
Our Fall Designed for Joy giveaway ends December 1! Don’t forget to fill out this form for a chance to win a coordinating Louise purse and Penny wallet, along with an Acorn Bell Ornament—just in time for the holidays. Three winners will be chosen.
The purse and wallet are available in baltic blue, aqua, evergreen, tan, gray, black, and raspberry.*
This Week’s Poll
October 31 Poll Responses
Backroad Trivia
Where did the first hot air balloon flight take place?
Hot Air Balloons
A few fun facts:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Backroad Portfolio to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.