Things to Do in Sun City

Diana Lefort frolicked with horses as a child on her family's Arizona ranch, developing a passion that led to her owning and caring for several of her own quarter steeds as an adult. Now with 30 years of professional equine experience, she welcomes every opportunity to blend her two passions: horseback riding and the gorgeous scenery of the Temecula Valley's wine country. She and her team begin their stallion-studded tours at various wineries in the region, where experts demonstrate the incantations used to summon tears from grapes and participants tipple seasonal fermented juices from at the chosen winery. The team then saddles participants on well-seasoned steeds with gentle temperaments and good credit ratings for tours through lush vineyard trails as the morning dew evaporates under the rising sun or as daylight slowly unspools around them into a glorious sunset. Many tours include a gourmet meal from local farmers at the Creekside Grille at Wilson Creek Winery.

Across the nation, the skies are filled with giant, kaleidoscopically colored balloons languidly soaring over snowcapped peaks and green valleys. This is partly due to Balloon Rides Online, whose network of nationwide hot-air balloons paints the sky each day. Employing a FAA-approved basket and a professional pilot who has completed at least 500 flight hours, the company floats passengers over mountains, forests, and streams of caramel for one hour. While gliding with the ease of a cloud, pilots encourage guests to snap photos of sprawling landscapes and capture the moment. After landing, crew members and passengers celebrate with a champagne, mimosa or orange-juice toast—an important tradition in hot-air ballooning and preparing for inevitable hovercraft uprisings. With passengers' safety in mind, Balloon Rides Online also keeps a minimum insurance liability of $100,000 per guest.

Since 1975, FAA-certified balloon pilot Dan Glick has whisked sightseers on picturesque sunrise flights over Temecula Valley wine country, packed with wining, dining, and professional photography. Each excursion feels like an occasion, with groups starting off at the Monte De Oro Winery for a preflight reception to sip and snack on coffee, mimosas, and pastries before ascending through the troposphere. As the dirigible hangs over rolling vineyards, professional photographer Megan Franks captures the adventure and the debates between intellectual birds on camera, leaving floating tourists with an HD video of the launch and more than 100 photographs of the flight experience. The sky-high journeys conclude on the ground with a round of champagne and cake to celebrate the endeavor. For special occasions, Sunrise Balloons can play celebratory launch music or adorn the carriage with banners proclaiming birthdays, anniversaries, or weddings.

Sunrise Balloons also hosts tours of the vineyards they frequently fly over. As luxurious as their airborne counterparts, tours forgo the balloon for a limo party coach that escorts passengers from one stop to the next.