SunKiss Ballooning Blog

Look Out 2012!

2012-01-31T21:29:39Z

    The year 2012 brings many new exciting changes to our ballooning family, so let's bring you all up to speed.

     SunKiss Ballooning's commercial ride business has been doing great!! We are flying high, staying busy, and sharing these first magically moments with lots of new customers. Our season will kick off this weekend with our participation in the Lake George Winter Carnival. We will be do tethered rides at Gas Light Village (there is still no ice) on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 8AM. This coming Saturday, February 4th we will be participating in the carnival's parade that kicks off at 4PM starting at the Prospect Mountain Diner. We will be with the carnival every weekend in February. We then start our ballooning circuit with Eagles Peak the first weekend in June. From there we will head on down to Copake, NY for Camp Waubeeka June 22nd-24th. Attending and flying for PNC Bank in Readington NJ for our third year in a row in July. Then we will start our Canadian run, return home for the Adirondack Balloon Festival and still manage to fit in all of our regular passengers in the mean time. Don't forget Valentine's Day is just around the corner...what is more romantic than a hot air balloon ride as a Valentine's Day gift...give us a call and we will give you a "sweet" deal! Keep up with us as we travel around on our website at www.sunkissballooning.com and on our Facebook fan page.

    The SunKiss Balloon Festival will have some exciting news in the coming weeks pertaining to the this years Festival, we just don't want to spill the beans too soon, so stay tuned!  We have lots of new exciting things to add, new members involved, and new interested sponsors. Keep an eye on our website www.sunkissballooning.com/festival as well as our Facebook fan page for the big announcements coming up...

    Monahan Airways has entered into contracts to purchase two new balloons, the Little Fireman, and "Squirt" the Fire Hydrant. Be sure to check them out on our our Facebook fan pages. We tentatively will be in New Jersey, Penn., several events in Canada, New Mexico, and Texas. We will continue to post our schedule of events as it grows.

    Cheers to an exciting, adventurous, and prosperous 2012!

Perfect Mother's Day Gift

2011-04-29T17:31:00Z

    Mother's Day is approaching fast...are you having trouble thinking of a gift that tops last years? How about trying to come up with a gift that really shows mom how much you appreciate her...

...a balloon ride is the perfect way! A hot air balloon ride is on almost everyone's bucket list, and what a special gift to give to your mom on her special day! Get your siblings together and pitch in for a unqiue experience of a life time!

    We can make custom gift certificate's for you to make this Mother's Day a memorable one.

            Contact us for your today! 518-796-0373 or todd@sunkissballooning.com

2011 Gets off to a Great Start!

2011-03-23T14:30:00Z

    As the snow melts the SunKiss Balloon Team and Monahan Airways are getting excited to start the 2011 ballooning season!

    Ballooning is starting early this year, and from down under. Todd, Scott and Christina will be traveling to Hamilton, New Zealand to fly the Clown-N-Around hot air balloon in the Balloons Over Waikato Balloon Festival. This is a trip that none of them have made before and they are looking forward to exploring New Zealand.

    This year Todd and Scott with Monahan Airways will be very busy traveling the US, Canada and Mexico with the "Clown-N-Around Balloon" and this seasons newest addition T"he Haunted Mansion". Be sure to check out photos of both at www.monahanairways.com as well as their event calendar to see where you can catch them along their tour.

    In addition to traveling with the special shaped balloons Todd and his SunKiss Team will be hard at work touring the festival circuit with his regular HEAD 105 Balloon "SunBurst" as well as managing the rides here are home. There are still rides available so please be sure to contact us to schedule yours. It is a great gift idea or the perfect way to celebrate a special occasion. Let our team make your special occasion a memorable one!

    The SunKiss Festival meetings have started as well and there are lots of new and exciting things being planned for this years event. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of this years event we would love to work with you, contact us to find out more about our sponsorship opportunities. For up to date information on the festival please keep checking back to www.sunkissballooning.com/festival for more details.

    Thats our quick update for now. Please be sure to check out our websites, including our calendars to see when we will be in your area, and with which balloon, hope to see you around!!

50th Anny of LG Winter Carnival

2011-02-08T15:43:00Z

This year is an exciting year for the Lake George Winter Carnival as they are celebrating their 50th year and the SunKiss Balloon Team is grateful to be apart of it!!

We kicked off this years event with a celebration parade on Feb. 5th down Canada St in Lake George. The wintery weather was in full action as our balloon team and equipment was covered in snow but we entertained the crowd nonetheless. We were a big hit with our mobile heaters as we traveled the parade route blasting our burners for the crowd. This years parade had three times the participants as last year and we were very proud to be asked to participate in it.

Last weekend was just the kick off, there are three more weekends jammed pack full of fun! This weekend we will return to the ice Saturday and Sunday morning at 7:30 AM in preparation for our morning hot air balloon tethered rides. and will be there every Saturday and Sunday mornings in February. Lake George is a beautiful place to visit, and seeing it from 150 feet above it is even more breath taking.
The Hot Air Balloon tethered ride is just one great reason to visit LG in the winter, they have all kinds of activities going on all month long for everyone, check them out on the web at www.lakegeorgewintercarnival.com

If you are around on Sunday about 1PM come check us out at Shepards Cove as the SunKiss Balloon Team will be participating in the 2011 Tavern Competition. Our pilots and team members will work together to complete a series of relay races while battling the snow and wintery temperatures .

February 19th and 20th will be our annual Winter Fly Off from Lake George. We will invite some of our closest friends and pilots to come visit for the weekend. We plan to take a scenic flight from the ice, flying over the mountains and landing in the farm fields of beautiful Fort Ann. On Saturday night we will return to the ice in the evening for a Moon Glow in coordination with a fireworks display. It should be a lot of fun and offer lots of great photos opportunities. If you have never seen a moon glow it is a must see, so be sure not to miss it.

And don't forget join our crew every Saturday and Sunday morning on the ice near Million Dollar Beach. We look forward to seeing you, so please stop by and introduce yourself!

No Winter-Time Blues

2010-10-26T15:15:00Z

It’s that time of year again. The temperature changes, the fall foliage that has kept us so busy falls to the ground, it gets darker earlier and earlier, our phones may not be ringing as much, and our chase vehicles may not be getting as many miles put on them. Unfortunately, all good things must come to end. It is now that we are saying good bye to our 2010 flying season and thanking it for a heck of a ride!

This past year has been great. We have traveled a lot and gained lots of new crew that we are so thankful for. It was a great season and we couldn’t have done it without you all, and you know who you are. Even though the flying may have calmed for a bit our crew is still as anxious as ever. Again this year we will be participating in the 2010 GF National Holiday Parade in South Glens Falls on November 21^st. We have lots of new crew, great ideas, and ready hands to make this year’s float happen. This year will be bigger and better than any year before, and we are on the list to be judged, we will be “UP” for the holidays to give you a little hint…so be sure to come check us out!

After the parade we will do our traditional Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot flight and after party. I have heard that the “turkey football” has been repaired and is ready for this year’s event. Our ballooning teams have become one big family, and holidays are all about family…so we start Thanksgiving out with a flight with ours. It is always a great time; contact us for more details if you would like to join us.

Don’t worry, we won’t be putting the balloons away for hibernation…Todd couldn’t do that, he would go crazy without any ballooning. We have the Lake George Winter Carnival! Come join us every Saturday and Sunday in February on Lake George…and we mean on it, literally. Join our team as we provide tether rides (for a fee) on the ice of Lake George. Experience a taste of what a balloon ride is like with the mountainous views of Lake George region covered in snow caps…a sight to see, don’t miss it! Oh and that’s not all, typically the third weekend in February we do our Snow Bird event. We bring all of our ballooning friends out of hibernation for a winter fly off and moon glow from Lake George. It is a tricking flight that can only happen so many times a year, don’t miss it. That same weekend we will join the Lake George Winter Carnival teams at their bon fire where we will display our balloons at a moon glow just in time for the fireworks over the lake.

So we won’t be soaring through the skies 5-8 times a week, going over our cell phone minutes, or having (as many) weekend tailgates but we will give you some reasons to come out of the house this winter, and we’ll be looking for you, so see you soon!

2010 SunKiss Balloon Festival

2010-09-20T19:41:00Z

This year’s Festival was better than we could’ve ever imagined. We had approximately 30 balloons in attendance with 4 special shapes, “Annie” the Lady Bug, “Gus T Guppy”, “American Flag” (sponsored by NBT Bank) and our very own “Clown-N-Around.”

Friday’s launch at SUNY Adirondack was a great success. The evening started with a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, representative from SUNY Adirondack, Todd and his team members, twin Scott and girlfriend Christina. The ribbon was cut, the cameras flashed, and the ribbon was presented to the team as a keepsake for success for years to come. What once seemed to be a dream of a little boy wasn’t a dream anymore…

That dream became a reality the evening of Friday September 10^th as Todd inflated his balloon, “SunBurst” on the grounds of the SUNY Adirondack campus, where he once watched the balloons launched himself as a child. He was the first of many to fly off commencing the start of the weekend activities. As he drifted away with the winds he looked back at the campus to see all his fellow pilots inflate and launch with him. He could see SUNY Adirondack’s student government’s merchandise stand selling his branded t-shirts to spectators that were there to watch his team’s event and could see his father on the ground looking up telling spectators around him, “that’s my son.” All the hard work that had been going on throughout the year seemed at times overwhelming, but that moment made it all worth it. Todd had set out to do his own thing several years ago, and never thought it would’ve grown to what it is today in such a short period of time. The college was excited to have the event back and the community seemed to be just as supportive. Hopefully that evening was just the beginning to a long relationship over the years.

Saturday morning the festivities continued but were moved to Kingswood Golf Course in Hudson Falls, NY. The Kent family has been great supporters of ballooning and without them that weekend wouldn’t have been possible. The news must have caught on because there was already a line of cars filled with spectators hoping to park soon to ensure they could get a good spot to watch the launch before the sun had even risen. SUNY Adirondack’s merchandise stand was up and ready to raise money for their yearly events. There were vendors lined up alongside the roadway, selling hot air balloon rides, festival remembrance items, face painting, airbrush tattoos by the Artbucket, taking canned goods as donations for the local food pantry, a full fledged concession stand by Ostrander Concessions, fresh squeezed lemonade and kettle corn too! At first the fogged seemed as though it might ground the launch but as the morning went on and the sun started to heat up the fog was lifted and the launch went on as scheduled. During the day there was a Bounce House supplied by SunKiss Ballooning, live radio from FROGGY 107.1 and helicopter rides by Heli Flights. The grounds of the golf course were packed with people as they lingered around for the evening launch. The SunKiss Team went about doing their busy day not noticing that the size of the crowd had nearly triple since the morning launch. A brief glance at the parking lot showed it packed full with cars and trail of even more up the roadside for as far as the eye could see. The evening launch went on without a glitch and the crowd roared as the balloons launched. The American Flag, sponsored by NBT Bank, launched after its musical introduction of God Bless America provided by Premier Sound. Later that evening, back at the Land Mark Motor Inn, the pilots were presented with a private musical performance by Richie Ortiz. It was a great way to end a very long day.

Sunday morning the excitement still went on with the morning launch. It was the last hurrah for the weekend with rain in the forecast. The flight was slow, calm and peaceful…the perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

The SunKiss Team was very proud of their event and can’t thank the supporters of it enough. The team took a little boy’s dream, added some elbow grease, teamwork, community support and made that dream come true…

Keep your eyes and ears open for 2011…you never know what we will come up with next! Check out our media exposure links below:

http://poststar.com/news/local/article_492ad55c-bd48-11df-9028-001cc4c03286.html

http://poststar.com/news/local/article_58788e82-aa42-11df-829c-001cc4c002e0.html

http://poststar.com/image_7f81bfca-04f3-514c-97e1-45a19dec0315.html

http://poststar.com/image_3774cbf5-2191-5955-8ec3-306693bd16f6.html

http://poststar.com/image_9d2e0e9e-069a-504d-a9aa-3a48560ecd71.html

http://poststar.com/image_693e023d-5253-5485-b5b3-1e890a1ee354.html

http://poststar.com/image_a2431786-7861-5117-87f4-aeb5df69faae.html

http://poststar.com/image_22f60d33-624f-5b5b-ac45-0aa7d0953ab2.html

http://poststar.com/image_4030a027-6481-55b4-8906-0b317df34c91.html

http://poststar.com/image_21d9ec1f-f2bc-5294-8b5c-087d6bd12400.html

http://poststar.com/image_35b480d3-4e07-5b5d-a224-471675c0e628.html

http://poststar.com/news/local/article_2861a526-bb81-11df-b9fa-001cc4c002e0.html

Recap 2010

2010-09-20T19:38:00Z

The SunKiss Balloon Team has been very busy in 2010. This year’s season has brought us all over the USA and into Canada…lets recap our season thus far…

We started out in Pennsylvania with our second annual trip to Eagles Peak campground. The event was laid back and as fun as it usually is. The weather was relatively good to us and the company there is always great. Our most recent news is that we will be organizing this event from now on! Our good friend Steve Tuttle has decided to hand over the reins to the festival in PA and we are very excited, be sure to mark it on your calendar, June 3-5^th 2011! (http://abeaglespeak.com/)

Our adventure then led us to Camp Waubeeka in Copake NY, another campground rally organized by Steve Tuttle. We were blessed with great weather and some really beautiful flights. We got to spend some quality time with our fellow pilots from home as well as a few visitors, including the “Sky God” Eric Hodges from New Mexico/Vermont. We all flew as a group and stayed close together, and a few of us even practiced our road landings ; ) Scott and Christina were able to sneak in a few lessons during this event and are very excited to continue their training. (http://morganrvresorts.com/pages/waubeeka_homepage)

Onward to Canada we made our way to Cornwall Ontario. This event is beautiful with daily launches alongside the St. Lawrence River. “SunBurst” and “Clown-N-Around” made this trip together. The flying time was shared between the both of them. As always flights were great and the adventure even better…this was the first time we can say we were retrieved from a field by a flat bed trailer being towed by a tractor…thank heavens for great landowners, they will be drinking champagne for some time! (http://www.lift-off.ca/)

Another annual event brought us to Quick Chek Festival in New Jersey. This event featured both “SunBurst” and “Clown-N-Around” flying the skies alongside each other every flight. Our trusted friend Eric Hodges from New Mexico/Vermont was there to clown around for us as we were spending some quality time with the Mary and the PNC group with “SunBurst.” This event is a challenging and enjoyable event that we look forward to every year…this is where we had the first glimpse of the “Haunted House”…but we will get to that later…watch for future blogs J. (http://www.balloonfestival.com/)

After a long nine hour drive we arrived in Canton, OH for the Hall of Fame Rally. This was a first year event from us, and we only brought “Clown-N-Around” along for this adventure. This was a strong competition based event, but we still managed to clown around and have a great time. Our good friend “Annie-The Lady Bug” made this trip with us and we managed to sneak in a little sightseeing as well. (http://www.profootballhoffestival.com/events/index.asp)

We then head back up into Canada to the Quebec City event. This trip was also only made with “Clown-N-Around” and our friend Neil Freedman from Albuquerque, NM. The weather wasn’t great but we were still able to get a flight in. This was the event that the baby bee was premiered at, and we were glad we could be a part of it. (http://www.festivent.net/)

The longest annual event for “SunBurst” is the St. Jean sur Richelieu event. The SunKiss Balloon team gets in nine days of flying, tailgating, and visiting with friends from all over the states. St. Jean wouldn’t be complete without a few visits to MIKES, Boston Pizza and Manneken Pis . This is always a rewarding event that the team looks forward to every year.

Labor Day weekend brought us to Gatineau Balloon Festival in Quebec. This was our first time at this event, and our first chance to see the new special shape Super FMG. The area was beautiful and the festival is well put together. The weather wasn’t very cooperative this year but we still had a great time. Our friend Neil Freedman from New Mexico and Chris Liberti from Colorado were there with Don Edwards, “Patty” balloon. Rain and wind limited the amount of flying we were able to do but we got to spend some quality time with friends and become well acquainted with the St. Hubert’s Chicken! http://www.montgolfieresgatineau.com/anglais/accueil2010_en.htm)

It was a busy yet fun summer…this leads us up to our rally…which we have so much to tell you about…keep your eyes open for the festival blog coming out soon! Stay tuned…

Eagles Peak Campgrounds in Robesonia

2009-05-30T04:22:00Z

SunKiss Ballooning is bringing "SunBurst" and "Social Butterfly" down to this campground in Penn. This will get out Festival Tour started and this is the first time that this campground has had this Rally. We are looking forward to hanging out with some of our close friends from NJ, MD, and the guy who is running it who is from up this way near Albany.

During the first week in June though; we will be completing our Ameri-Glow with Americade in Lake George. This will be our 3rd year working with Bill & Christian Dutcher who head Americade and have been great to work with. Everyone has to check this out; it is a great time!

Once we get started with the festivals; we are just about on the road every other weekend going all over the place from Canada to New Mexico, then to Mexico. We are also flying the Clown Balloon (www.clown-n-around.net) which still has some popularity amongst the festivals. The Clown will be showcased in Readington, NJ, Binghampton, NY, possibly in China, and Albuquerque, NM.

Well, we will post more pictures in the photo gallery as soon as we get back from Penn.

Todd Monahan
FAA Certified Commercial Pilot

Rally 4 Abbey

2009-04-30T15:11:00Z

Calling SunKiss Balloon Supporters..... This is a letter I received from a fellow Black Sheep Member!!

Lets support this cause!!

Hello all!
I am coming to you at a time of serious need within our community. Some of you may know about this young lady and for those of you who do not, let me take this opportunity to speak with you about her. 12 year old Abigail, who is a student at Queensbury Central School, went to the nurse one day a couple weeks ago complaining of a bad headache. Within minutes she had passed out in the nurses’ office and was rushed to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and lays in critical condition with a prognosis which is not very positive. I was approached by a good friend of Abbey’s father to ask for help to offset some of the families’ costs to travel back and forth to Albany Med as well as costs associated with being at the hospital each day. The person who approached me did so because of how impressed she was with what we accomplished with the Rally 4 Codey and knew that we could put this together and make it a positive day for the family of this young lady.

I met Abbey’s father this afternoon and a lump has been in my throat ever since because his daughter is just a mere 2 weeks younger than my daughter, Allison. It was all I could do to hold back my tears as we talked about what he and his family is going through and the helplessness that they feel being able to do nothing but be there each day and hope for guidance to get them through each day. I could tell how hard it took Abbey’s father, Joe, to talk to me and open up about his daughter and I thanked him for that. I also told him that we have some very remarkable people in this community who pull together in times like this and try to bring some piece of hope to the family whose loved one is sick.

I would like you all to take time and think about if you would like to be a part of the Rally 4 Abbey which will take place on Sunday May 3rd which coincidentally will be Abbey’s 13th birthday. We want to have hot air balloons, food, fun, etc involved and I know that you will help me to make this an incredible day. We are working on a flyer that will be sent to each of you via email which will give more details about this event. If you have any ideas or know of how you wish to help please contact me via email.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this most worthy event.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-11T21:06:00Z

HAPPYHOLIDAY

I am writing to say Thank You to all my Crew and volunteers from all over the country!

I am also writing to say how lucky I am to be a Pilot in the Ballooning World. I have been exposed to some of the greatest people in the world! This year in 2008; I was able to travel down to hang out with Matt, Sally, Eric Hodges, Mike Hernendex, Jon Radawski, and Jim Regan down at Quick Chek in New Jersey, got to spend time with Steve Tuttle, Brian, and all our Camp Friends down at Camp Waubeeka, and then made our way up to St. Jean, Canada where I got to hang out with Jim Regan, John Ross, Bob Romaneschi, Ashley, and Caroline, as well as sharing this with my Crew! My main Crew was Christina Ostrander, Scott & Robin Monahan, Andrew Avon, and Matt & Kara. As I left Canada, I was thinking about our "Black Sheep Rally" where a bunch of pilots symbolize what it is like to stick together and stand up for what we believe in! Soon after the Black Sheep Rally, Scott, Andrew, and myself got on a plane for the World Series of Ballooning! There were 650 balloons registered at Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Fiesta changed my life as a balloonist forever when I got the chance to fly "Joey" Little Bee. Throughout these festivals, I have been able to make some great friends and experiences I will cherrish for the rest of my life. I was able to share my experience with my twin brother, my good friend Andrew, a guy who has experience Fiesta all is life (Eric Hodges), and Bob Romaneschi and many more. It is time to be around my friends and family here in NY but I will cherrish the memories with my friends from all over the world. I am grateful for ballooning and what it has done to my life. I will enjoy my time here with my friends and family as well as look forward to the new experiences I will have in the upcoming year!

THANK YOU EVERYONE IN MY LIFE!!!!

Black Sheep Rally SEPTEMBER 19-21

2008-09-02T13:55:00Z

Black Sheep Squadron Ballooning

A group fly of about 1 dozen local balloonists are staging their own launches throughout the weekend about 1/4 mile north of the Warren County Airport on County Line Road. Come out and meet the local balloonists who fly in the greater Glens Falls region from spring through the fall. Call Todd at 518-796-0373 to schedule rides during the festival weekend (or for some other time).

Wednesday, September 17 6pm - 8 pm
Tribune Tether Rides $25 per person.

Thursday, September 18 5pm
Downtown Launch From Centennial Circle in Glens Falls.

Friday, September 19
Flights Launch at 6:30 am, 5:15 pm launching off County Line Road.

Saturday, September 20
Flights Launch at 6:30 am, 5:15 pm launching off County Line Road.
Tether Rides at Crandall Park at Noon

Sunday, September 21
Flights Launch at 6:30 am, 5:15 pm launching off County Line Road.

Lake Front Radio

2008-07-22T03:18:00Z

Hello Everyone,
SunKiss Ballooning participated in an interview with Lake Front Radio where we discussed the wonderful feeling & views a balloonist gets from flying over bodies of water. Chuck & Mary were wonderful people and a pleasure to talk with about this wonderful sport. This is a great radio show to listen in on when looking at the different aspects of lakes around the region!! Check them out!!

Check out the podcast: Click Here

Lake Front Radio

Mary Thompson , Chuck Thompson and Lee Kantor interview Lakefront Professionals across the nation from their studio in Atlanta, Georgia every Friday afternoon at 12:00 Noon, EDT. Listen each week as we talk to high profile Lake & Waterfront professionals across the USA. Our show is all Lakefront Living, Recreation, Real Estate & Business in and around the nations largest Lakes and Water Bodies.

Lake Front Radio

2008-07-07T20:36:00Z

On July 11, 2008 at 12:00pm I, Todd Monahan (owner/pilot) will be participating in an interview with this radio station in Georgia on flying balloons over bodies of water.

A good friend Jessica who I hung out with in my past was the in between person who took an interest in helping these folks find a balloonist such as myself to interview. I would like to Thank her for taking time out of her busy schedule in helping coordinate this.

Check us out during the show and check out the radio show with Mary & Chuck Thompson!!!
www.lakefrontradio.com

Mary Thompson , Chuck Thompson and Lee Kantor interview Lakefront Professionals across the nation from their studio in Atlanta, Georgia every Friday afternoon at 12:00 Noon, EDT. Listen each week as we talk to high profile Lake & Waterfront professionals across the USA. Our show is all Lakefront Living, Recreation, Real Estate & Business in and around the nations largest Lakes and Water Bodies.

Article in Local Paper

2008-06-12T17:47:00Z

SunKiss Ballooning

"The Hidden Story"

GLENS FALLS - Todd Monahan spent nearly 25 years hoping and dreaming that one day he'd take a hot air balloon ride.

"I remember being 5 years old and going to the Warren County airport with my dad," Monahan, 27, said. "Being excited to get up at 4 a.m. to see balloons -- I wasn't a normal kid. But I remember going to the airport all the time just wishing a pilot would ask me to jump in the basket."

No pilot ever did, and Monahan's parents, he recalled, couldn't spare the money to buy him a ride.

So he waited and waited and waited, and in 2005, he finally got his first hot air balloon ride.

He's been flying ever since, both for business and pleasure.

SunKiss Ballooning is Monahan's fledgling company, and while it opened last June in Glens Falls, this is his first full flying season in business.

Getting to this point, however, took some work.

In February 2006, Monahan traveled to Albuquerque, N.M. to get his private pilot's license. That allowed him to fly for fun -- and to give rides to friends -- but he couldn't take money for the flights, he said.

"I bought my own balloon after that. And every chance I got, I'd fly."

Despite the freedom he felt floating above the Adirondacks at his leisure, Monahan wanted to take his hobby farther. That meant getting another certification.

"On June 1, 2007, I got my commercial license and started flying all kinds of festivals," Monahan said. "I flew in Burlington, New Jersey, Canada."

The commercial license, he added, was what he needed to get paid for providing balloon rides.

Monahan opened SunKiss Ballooning right after he got this license, and since then, he estimates he's given about 50 rides.

While the money he's made from those excursions is nice, getting rich from SunKiss Ballooning isn't in Monahan's plans.

His day job is with the Council for Prevention of Alcohol and Substance Abuse in Hudson Falls where he works as an adventure program counselor.

Aside from already having a rewarding career, SunKiss Ballooning's earnings are secondary to Monahan because of his passion for flight itself.

"The average ride is about an hour, and it really is a lot of fun," he said. "You meet these people who, before, you had no idea about. It's just you and four people, at most.

"You're standing in this small basket, and you really get to know each other."

And getting to know other people has lead to learning more about the needs of nearby communities and organizations, Monahan said.

Each year, he does his best to donate rides for local events, or to donate money to area charities.

"I donate 1 percent of all my profits to a local, state-recognized charity," he said. "This year, the charity benefits multiple sclerosis."

Monahan also does his best to make sure his paying customers get as much out of their hot air balloon experiences as they can.

Joel and Jennifer Holden of Fort Edward, who got married on Saturday, attested to this.

"We felt very comfortable the whole time," Jennifer Holden said. "We were able to pick out our house during the ride."

"And although we are sunset people, not sunrise, he did make getting up in the morning worth it," her husband added.

The ride itself wasn't the only thing that justified meeting Monahan at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, however.

"After the ride, we had donuts and coffee with the farmer whose field we landed in," Joel Holden said.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," his wife, added. "I would suggest everyone should do it."

SPRING FEVER!!

2008-03-17T18:48:00Z

SPRING FEVER!!!!!!

I woke up this morning to the sun peaking through my window, the first thing I did was look out my window to see how beautiful it looked. The first thought that came into my head was “what a great morning to fly!!” I find myself looking at all the flags on my way into work to see if I could have taken a flight!!!

The Snow is melting day-by-day allowing the ground to soak up the water and breathe! That is just what us balloonist do this time of year; start getting out our trailers, looking over our system, and start reminiscing about the previous years of fun around ballooning.

CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU GUYS FOR THE 2008 SEASON!!!

SunKiss Ballooning Goes Tobacco Free!!!

2007-12-11T20:02:00Z

SAY "NO" TO TOBACCO!!!!

SunKiss Ballooning has officially gone Tobacco Free; we have agreed with Reality Check to not accept nor solicit any financial contributions, sponsorships, or gifts from any tobacco company, executive, or activity that promotes tobacco use. We are proud to say that we are not helping the tobacco companies market to our young teens in America!

· Tobacco is still one of the leading preventable causes of death and disease in the world, causing over 25,000 deaths in New York each year.

· Tobacco companies spend more than $11.22 billion in marketing their products each year.

· Research has shown that many tobacco advertisements and tobacco industry tactics have a profound influence on children and may entice them to use theses harmful products.

2007 SunKiss Ballooning

2007-10-16T23:07:00Z

Hey Everyone,
It is coming to the end of a wonderful season for SunKiss Ballooning and I want to thank everyone that has had a part in helping me chase my dream!! There are so many exciting things that happened this year and anyone that has been around me will tell you that all I talk about is ballooning! There isn't a felling that I can identify to explain the way I feel when I get to Pilot the balloon! There are so many more things in store for SunKiss Ballooning! Keep updated with the blog to find out what will be going on in the near future. I can only hope that other people will be able to chase their dream and feel the way I do everytime I get to accomplish another piece of my dream. Lets raise our glasses and toast to a great year of chasing dreams!!!

Todd J. Monahan
Commercial Pilot

1st Annual FlyOff

2007-05-08T02:12:00Z

This weekend coming up on May 12, 2007; local pilots are getting together to have our official 1st group fly. Our take off spot has not yet been determined and won't be until we know what wind direction there is! You can email me when it gets closer and I will let you know! Please stay tuned to upcoming events; you can find these events on my myspace page as well: www.myspace.com/sunkissballooning
Thanks everyone for visiting the website

Todd
Sunkiss Pilot

Welcome

2007-05-07T17:27:00Z

Welcome to SunKiss Ballooning Blog. This blog will be used to send updated information and give event dates such as flying dates and upcoming festivals. Feel free to ask questions and comment on your experiences.