I’ve always been fascinated by flying paper sky lanterns. Many years ago, we spent a Christmas in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where on Christmas Eve, we spotted countless glowing offerings released to the bitterly cold, still night from the comfort of glowing bonfires dotting the streets in and around the downtown neighborhoods. Seemingly effortless, they lifted off into the night like explorers, their candlelight winking down on us as they set out for an adventure of a lifetime.
Trying to light lanterns on Cannon Beach
This summer in Oregon, I brought a bunch of sky lanterns to the beach, excited about the kids starting a new tradition and making our own magical spectacle. It turns out, sky lanterns are extremely delicate, precise packages of engineering, requiring just the right conditions and a certain finesse from their handlers. The paper is onionskin thin, delicately held together with silk thread and a sliver of rounded bamboo. They require gentle unfolding, so as not to tear any of the paper else the hot air will not be contained once lit, and therefore will not take flight. Additionally, sky lanterns demand still, calm air, with barely a puff of wind. Too much breeze and, once unfolded, they may immediately be crushed or the paper might be blown into the flame heating the air inside the paper globe; and if the lantern does take to a windy sky, it might be blown into a house or tree, setting off a fire and potentially landing the operator in jail for arson.
The first night I remembered to try the sky lanterns, the wind and mist were too much, with Haystack Rock mocking me in the distance. The next night, and the night after that – same thing. Finally, the perfect evening arrived. The air was unusually calm, the skies clear, the setting sun spectacular. While the kids enjoyed skimboarding on the receding tide with dusk giving way to night, I ran to the cottage to retrieve a few lanterns. In teams of two, we started unfolding our flying machines, however the boys had wet hands from the surf, and two of my younger pilots, bursting with exuberance and uncontrollable appendages, displayed the opposite of the finesse previously mentioned as a required skill. We finally managed to get one lantern fully unfolded without tearing a hole or getting the paper wet just as a puff of wind conjured up from the ocean making the lighting of the fuel cell difficult. Finally catching fire, the puff quickly gave way to breeze, quickly giving way to straight-up wind. The sides of the lantern bowed despite us all tightly forming a circle, though air inside slowly felt warmer. Flimsy and unsure if the required temperature threshold for flight was achieved, the lantern slipped out of our hands and started skidding down the beach, hovering just inches from the wet sand. Suddenly Otto sprinted after the fledgling airship, grabbed the base and pushed it towards the sky, and it started to rise! We all cheered as the lantern soared higher and higher, every bit as magical and cool as I had hoped for.
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First morning in Italy… running on the Arno River near our apartment
Early this morning, as I jogged beside my eldest son Wescott along the banks of the Arno River in Florence, Italy, I had sky lanterns on the brain. It’s the first day of Project Equator and we both awoke early due to jet lag. Just a few blocks from our apartment, there is a huge park bordering the river just about a mile south of the Ponte Vecchio; similar to Town Lake in Austin, Texas, if you’ve been there. Lots of people were out jogging, biking, walking and enjoying the morning. The hills around Florence were starting to light up with the rising sun. Ancient turrets and domed churches peeked out on the horizon. The start of a great day.
Cool monument to someone really old and cool with a super-cool, modern bridge in the background
It’s the moment of liftoff, with our dream of a family gap year finally taking flight after so much careful planning, finesse, engineering and luck for the perfect conditions. This running trail; our neighborhood; my labored breathing as I try to keep up with Wescott; the first day of Project Equator – it’s all exactly right as we all launch into the adventure of a lifetime.
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