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Long Branch is an historic house and farm located near the town of Millwood, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley. Built around 1805, the house sits on a hill overlooking 400 acres of rolling green pastures. Once a working plantation, today Long Branch is a museum and home for retired racehorses. A non-profit foundation now owns the property, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. |
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This year, weather for my Saturday afternoon flight was forecast to be sunny and not too windy -- perfect for ballooning. The one issue was the wind direction, which was forecast to be from the west, later shifing to the south and southeast. A wind from the west would take the balloons over the Shenedoah River and the wooded ridge running along the east side of the valley. On the other side of the ridge we would enter the ADIZ, the area surrounding Washington D.C. where aviation is restricted. |
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Jan Miller in the Owl and the Pussycat balloon had kindly agreed to take off just before me to do a little photography. Roland and I fiddled with my ballast for a while to get me to the appropriate lightness. I saw a toy balloon up in the sky -- it seemed to be heading north as it rose, which I hoped meant that the desried wind shift was occurring. We signalled to Jan. He lifted off, and a few seconds later I followed him up. The crowd cheered as we floated away over Long Branch. |
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