"Shiver Me Timbers" wrote in message
...
Just what sort of receptions have you run into,
when landing on private property etc.

In general receptions have been fine. Lots of interest. If we have some
propane left, we tether the balloon and take neighbors and kids up for a
quick trip. Also, if we land on private property, we give the owner a
bottle of wine and do the "ceremony" and explain a bit of ballooning history
and why we are giving the wine. Some people I have flown with also have a
little table, crackers and cheese. There is not much to complain about.
But, I do remember a guy crabbing about the burner waking him up -- he
turned down the offer of a free ride. If the owner appears before we land,
we always ask for permission and no one has ever declined. Sometimes they
actually bring out a pot of coffee.

There was a time when we had to do a rip landing in to this lady's side
yard. But that was after we spent a half hour getting out of the trees --
nearly out of fuel, we had used the drop line to catch a tree branch in
order to stop moving so we could get into the postage stamp yard. The
neighbors didn't know what to make of us up there trying to free the line.
They called the police who came and offered assistance, but we didn't need
it. But then they started ask, "are you legal?", "What's the FAA say about
this?". They were convinced we were violating some law but just couldn't
figure out what it was! We got down, put the lady in the basked with her
bottle of wine and took a photo. The local paper published it on the front
page.