Hot Air Ballooning with the Westwind Ballooning Company is listed as one of the Five Best Creative Dates by author Paula A. Komar in her Guide to Dating in Southeastern Michigan.

Komar, a contributing expert to the best seller It’s Just Lunch by Andrea McGinty, lists hundreds of great date ideas in her Southeast Michigan guide as well as great dating advice. Among the Five Best Creative Dates suggested by Komar are:

• Playing bocce at Palazzo di Bocce in Orion
• Dinner or Mystery Theater at Michigan Star Clipper Dinner Train, Walled Lake
• Hot Air Ballooning with Westwind Balloon Company, Plymouth
• Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea
• Renting a Ferrari or Porsche from Driven Image in Novi

On ballooning, Komar writes: “Float over the lakes and woods of Oakland County in a hot air balloon. Flights are scheduled two hours prior to sunset or at sunrise. Don’t forget your camera.”

Komar is the Director of the Southeast Michigan offices of It’s Just Lunch. She has appeared on a variety of radio and TV shows, including WDIV, WXYZ, and FOX. Komar and her team coordinate thousands of dates each year.

"Ballooning makes for an ideal date because it is an adventure experience that touches someone emotionally and will make a lasting impression for years to come,” says Scott Lorenz, President and Chief Pilot of Westwind Balloon Company of Plymouth, Michigan.

"Ballooning is a creative date for the same reasons many people find it to be an 'adventure gift' for all kinds of occasions such as an Anniversary, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Birthday. A balloon flight is the perfect gift for those who are tired of giving ‘forgettable’ gifts that sit on a shelf or get tucked away in a closet. Nobody forgets a hot air balloon flight and nobody forgets who gave it to them either."

A balloon flight is the perfect anniversary celebration as a gift the couple can give to themselves. “The main reason ‘experience’ gifts are so popular is that in the end all we have are memories and the balloon ride provides a vivid and lasting memory,” adds Lorenz. “People really want to make special occasions ‘special’ so they are more interested in collecting experiences than knick-knacks to put on a shelf. And a balloon flight is the perfect experience gift that a couple can enjoy together because each flight is for two people.”

Scott Lorenz has been a commercial balloon pilot since 1982, and has logged more than 1,200 hours as pilot in command in a hot air balloon. Scott’s memorable ballooning experiences include: Flying over Niagara Falls, The Great Wall of China, Disney World, the Olympics in Calgary, St. Wolfgang, Austria, Saga, Japan, the Grand Prix in Spain, co-piloting one of two balloons for Mike Howard’s Guinness World Record ”balloon walk” flight at 19,000 feet, a 20 hour-361 mile Gas Balloon flight with Gordon Boring, and handling media relations for Kevin Uliassi’s Round the World balloon flights.

The balloon flight costs $650.00 for two people. Gift certificates for flights in the area over Kensington Park in Milford, Michigan can be purchased by calling 734-667-2098 or by visiting Westwind Balloon Company or via email to Scott Lorenz. Checks, Visa, MasterCard and Discover Card are accepted. Hot air balloon rides are scheduled May through October.