Sweater Weather and Hot Air Balloons

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to gracefully float high above a majestic landscape of glacial lakes, fertile farmland and forests awash in the vibrant colors of fall? Now is your chance to experience this unique adventure that is at once both exhilarating and peaceful. During your stay at Yale Manor, we’ll arrange a hot air balloon ride launched just steps from your door on our ten secluded acres. No two flights are ever the same and the sensation of gently gliding, silent and weightless through the sky will allow you and your family to embrace and share once-in-a-lifetime moments that you’ll remember and talk about for years to come.

U.S. Navy aviator, Carroll Teitsworth, founded the Liberty Balloon Company in 1977. Ballooning has been his lifelong passion and he and his crews have safely piloted thousands of flights throughout our region. Manned hot air ballooning has a long tradition and began on November 21, 1783 when the first free flight occurred in Paris, France.  Made of paper and silk, the balloon carried two men, who stood on an attached circular platform where they hand-fed the fire through openings on either side of the balloon’s skirt.  They reached an altitude of 500 feet and traveled about five and a half miles before landing safely in a farming and vineyard area twenty five minutes later. Legend has it that the pilots gave bottles of champagne to frightened farmers and peasants who thought the two men were demons appearing from the heavens. For more ballooning history, visit the National Balloon Museum website and Nova on PBS, A Short History of Ballooning. 

Contact us in advance of your arrival so we can make the necessary arrangements with the Liberty Balloon Company. We look forward to hosting you soon at our beautiful Finger Lakes retreat.

Not all those who wander are lost. ― J.R.R. Tolkien