Last night, Ashley and I were picked up by a car service and whisked off to the heliport for an adventure, courtesy of Hershey, to celebrate the launch of their new aerated Air Delight chocolate. Hershey’s Kisses have always been one of my favorite candies, so I was excited to see what they had up their sleeves, and of course, I was excited for the air adventures.

 

Well, some of us were excited.

Some of us were terrified.

O.M.G. We are about to get up in this itty bitty helicopter.

Sheer panic, y’all.

[photo via Ashley]

Even before we took off, the view was pretty sweet.

Oh heyyy. Just flying over Lady Liberty. No biggie.

Flying over Newark Airport was pretty surreal. Those aren’t toys. Those are actual, full-sized commercial airplanes.

You can always get a cab at Newark. Whew.

I *think* that might be the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, but I could be totally wrong.

Kean football stadium.

After our 22-minute helicopter ride to Central Jersey, our next chariot awaited us to drive across the airfield to the hot air balloon. I was shocked with how smooth the helicopter ride was, and I was actually way less terrified than I expected once we were up in the air. Having a front row seat meant that we had amazing views, and sitting a few feet away from the pilot actually calmed my nerves. I think part of my flying anxiety stems from having no idea while in the back of the plane what’s going on up front.

Ta-da!

In case you were wondering how many people it takes to organize an event like this, the answer is quite a few.

The hot air balloon was piloted (guided?) by members of the U.S. Hot Air Balloon Team, which apparently is a thing. Always a reporter, I asked our captain, Stan Hess, a few questions about the hot air balloon ride and competing on a hot air balloon team. Our balloon was tethered, because it’s part of the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning this weekend (which means that you, too, can go check out this chocolate and go up in the Hershey’s balloon), but a hot air balloon can go up to 20,000 feet in the air. After 10,000 feet, though, he says you’ll need oxygen. That’s the same reason helicopters won’t go very high, but planes can go 30,000+ feet in the air. Planes pump oxygen into the cabin so that you can breathe.

And yeah. They call it a hot air balloon for a reason. That fire kept us up in the air.

And my buddy Stan, of course.

[Courtesy of Insider Images]

While up in the air, we got to sample the chocolates. The aeration made them taste light and fluffy, a little less solid than regular Hershey’s Kisses. Because of the aeration, you can eat 11 Kisses for 200 calories; regular Hershey’s Kisses are 200 calories for 9. (But I don’t think I could eat 9 or 11 Kisses in one sitting! Maybe going back and forth to the kitchen, though…)

[Courtesy of Insider Images]

[Courtesy of Insider Images]

[Courtesy of Insider Images]

After the hot air balloon ride, it was back to the helicopter to return to the city. Thanks to Hershey’s for such a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And the chocolate, of course. I can definitely cross hot air balloon ride and helicopter ride off my bucket list.

Also, I’ve picked a winner for the RoadID giveaway! I’m so excited for all of your races that I wish I could give everyone a prize, but only one person won this time around.

Leticia, can you e-mail me (theodora @ losingweightinthecity.com) with your contact info?

Question: What’s on your bucket list?