(Reprinted with permission from the September 2000 issue of Cleveland Magazine.)
Owned and operated by Bill and Sandy Cloninger of Chagrin Falls, Amish Country Balloon Tours has provided airborne excursions over the farms, fields and forests of the eastern portion of Northeast Ohio since 1995. Affectionately known as Capt. Willy, Cloninger has been piloting balloons for 11 years. The couple had their first "lighter than air" experience in Napa Valley, Calif., in 1988 then w
ent on to found their company in1993 after Bill retired from his position as a senior vice president with Society National Bank.
Once Capt. Willy levels off above the treetops, all the while providing commentary on the scenery and history of ballooning, the feeling is like… well, floating on air.
Sandy offers three simple rules to ensure safety from launch through landing: Stay in the basket, stay in the basket, and stay in the basket.
Only occasional propane burner blasts that make dogs bark and send grazing deer darting into the woods puncture the largely silent one-hour flight.
Passenger Barrie Galvin reveals that she and her husband, Daniel, are airborne today in pursuit of a "doable challenge" that was funded by their two children as a 35th wedding anniversary gift.
"They want us to be more daring," says the 58-year-old Pepper Pike resident. "They feel if we don’t do these things pretty soon, we’ll be too old to do them." However, the couple is encouraged this Sunday morning by the presence of a fellow hot-air balloon passenger there to celebrate his 85th birthday.
"It was the most relaxing, quiet, serene, beautiful ride," sighs Daniel after landing safely in a field. A few minutes later, he deposit a message on his son’s voice mail: "Your parents have landed. You don’t get your inheritance yet."
Amish Country Balloon Tours operates from May through the end of October, and can be reached at (440) 543-7139. -Christopher Johnston.
Reprinted from the September 2000 issue of Cleveland Magazine.
