The sun was just waking up, golden light across the horizon. We had nervously and excitedly waited for hours in the darkness, being shuttled around for the right place to launch. Finally, the moment was here. We were watching both the sun and the balloons rise.

Have you ever dreamed of floating through the sky in a hot air balloon, with the world stretching out below like a living patchwork quilt? I did. And recently, that dream took flight, quite literally, thanks to a hot-air balloon ride designed with accessibility in mind. There are less than a handful of organizations with accessible hot air balloons in the country. And we were lucky enough to find an amazing organization called Reach for the Stars out of Temecula, California.

We decided it would definitely be worth flying across the country to work with this organization. It also gave us the chance to check off our personal bucket list item: having an adventure with 2 people we have known since Magnolia was diagnosed with Rett syndrome 11 years ago. Early in the morning, we met up with Sherri Brady and her daughter, Lauren. It was dark and cold, but that didn’t stop the excitement.

There we were in the middle of an open field, watching a kaleidoscope of color come to life. Two different accessible balloon baskets: one for Sherri and Lauren, adapted for a wheelchair user, and another basket adapted with a secure seat with visibility for someone with low tolerance for standing long periods—perfect for Magnolia.

As we all checked out our baskets, we realized it would be a quick start as soon as the balloons were filled. As hot air filled the balloons, excitement filled the cool air around us.