August 21, 2025
We were up at 3:30am to prepare for a 4:15am pick up. The boys kept referring to it as “the middle of the night.” We were all moving slowly but made it to the van by 4:18am which felt like a huge win for our group. All along the road we saw mostly big white vans toting tourists like us to their hot air balloon experience. It was a short drive to a small roadside restaurant for check in, a small breakfast and restrooms before driving to the field for takeoff.
There were 100+ vans turning down the same dirt road toward the liftoff spot. There were no signs or markings that we noticed but our driver knew exactly where to pull off to bring us to our balloon. We walked around the field a bit and watched as the flames heated the air in the balloons to make them stand upright. Each balloon had a full team supporting the prep and when the balloons finally stood we saw a few team members being pulled along a rope we think ensuring that it stood up straight.
Kyle received a tip from a gentleman at our hotel that we should hang back and try to be the last group in the balloon basket to increase the odds of securing a coveted corner spot. When it came time for everyone to get in the basket, we were actually directed by the team into the corner spot so we never had to deploy the tip. The corner spot was especially helpful as it had cut outs that served dual purpose as steps to get into the basket and viewing spots for the kids. A tour guide for a large group was SUPER angry that we had been given this spot and proceeded to cause a scene for the next ten minutes. She even yelled at us and tried to get our attention to ask us to move. She berated the balloon team but they continued to assure her there were no spot reservations associated with the basket.
The ride lasted about an hour and went by in a flash. The sun started to rise as the balloon took off and it fully rose above the mountains about midway through. The boys oscillated between standing and taking in the surroundings and laying down to peek through their “windows”. I told the boys how me and my dad would go to the hot air balloon festival near our house growing up and I remember always getting apple fritters on those early mornings. I didn’t have any fun donuts to share but we did all eat a bag of peanut M&Ms during the flight. While on the balloon, Kyle told Ollie “I’ve never been on a balloon ride before in my life” and Ollie simply says, “Same.” Ollie came up to me a few separate times during the day to remark, “I can’t believe we went up in the balloon today.”
The balloon team made a point to teach us how to prepare for a rough landing before we even took off. The boys got a kick out of this and each time the balloon descended they would yell out, “landing position!!” The pilot advised that the landing would be tame and that we didn’t need to be in the position but the kids insisted anyway. The pilot landed the basket directly onto a trailer attached to a truck– impressive given that the only steering capability he had was the four way torch inside the balloon!
Back at our hotel, we had a huge Turkish breakfast before returning to the room for quiet time and naps. Len fell asleep right away but Ollie continued his trend of nap refusal and proceeded to mess around in the living room for close to 3 hours.
We got our act together in the early afternoon to head out for a walk to explore Uçhisar. Our first stop was Kadineli, a female owned and operated restaurant that a gentleman at our hotel recommended. The food was simple but we all loved it. Ollie especially loved the grape leaves and ate two orders all by himself save for a few that Kyle snagged.
After equipping the kids with fruit slushies, we made our way to Uçhisar castle to hike to the top. The castle was carved from volcano tuff and hosted civilizations up to the 15th century. After climbing the 275 steps to the top and then making our way down, we stopped at a nearby cafe to sit in the shade, play some Uno and plan out the next part of the day. The cafe owner told us about a wine tasting room down the street that served local wines so we headed that way.
At Kocabag winery we tasted a few wines, had a glass of white and bought a bottle of Pinot-esque wine to bring to Mehmet’s house. The boys enjoyed some PokemonGo time and the pourer, Mustafa, came over to sit and play with them for a bit.
We were wiped by dinner time but made it out to the hotel grassy area for a dance competition for the kids and a cocktail for the adults. Len put on a water chugging show at dinner but despite his frat party energy, we were in bed before 9pm.
