Up, up away, but not very high as the hot air balloon skimmed Honesdale’s tree tops Saturday, amazing the rest of us on the good Earth.
A gorgeous day with fall colors at their peak couldn’t be more perfect it would seem for a hot air balloon ride. Unfortunately they really can’t be steered, and this one came down in a backyard off Cliff Street. The balloon wasn’t crashing and they weren’t in any danger, assured Becky Jones, whose husband Alan Jones was piloting the balloon. People were calling 9-1-1, she said, adding it was not an unusual reaction when flying where they are not usually seen. This was around 6 p.m.
Alan and Becky do this for a hobby, each having their own hot air balloon. Shehawken residents, they are frequently seen aloft in northern Wayne County. Alan has been doing this for 30 years, and Becky for 13; they sometimes are hired to take people up. On this trip they carried Andy Nebzydoski and his wife Dr. Trish Morgan, and her father Dr. Morgan of Carbondale, celebrating Dr. Morgan’s 84th birthday.
They launched from Aldenville and hoped to land north of Honesdale in a traffic triangle off Route 670, but the winds had other plans.  With Becky following in their ground support vehicle, the balloon was 500 feet over Honesdale and dropped as low as the top of the trees.
She said that they purposely skim the trees with the basket, to slow the balloon down while looking for a good landing spot. She said they seek to avoid power lines. Branches of green trees, she added, bounce back as they glide by. “It’s very safe,” Becky added.
Following along the Lackawaxen River, they went over the hill and ended up in a backyard near St. Vincent’s School.
Kandy Clark of Prompton offered her report: “My family and I were walking behind the Prompton Lake... when we first ‘heard’ the hot air balloon. Once we realized what it was we could see the flames and the people in the balloon.  It seemed quite low.  We have seen several over the years crossing over the lake area, but this one seemed lower than usual and we at one point were practically right underneath it.  My son even tried yelling to them. ... I was not able to get any good pictures due to the trees, but I do have a wonderful one of my children looking up at it.  I will always know what they were looking at.”
Lisa Bates, of East Street, said she and her dad watched it from outside their house. She said she was afraid it might hit the house but it didn’t. “We waved to them and they were waving back,” she said. “Cars were following them around.”
Lynn McElroy said they watched the balloon from their upper East Street home. She said it seemed low, and their could hear the burners. 
Becky stated that they had no idea whose yard it was where they landed; no one was home. Following a tradition dating to the 1800’s, the balloonists left the resident a bottle of champagne and a thank you note, on the back porch.
Doing 25- 30 flights a year, all over the country and abroad, she said only once did a property owner get angry because they landed on his property, and that was in New York State.
Back on the ground, they deflate the balloon and pack it in their trailer. Pat and Karen Houshultz of Honesdale are regular members of their ground crew (Becky is Pat’s sister).
Mr. Jones is a supervisor for Preston Township.
The autumn colors Saturday were wonderful from the air, but she added that they are even more intense in northern Wayne County.
They have a web site at www.balloonpa.com.