Mission: Fun in the Sun

It was a not-so-covert operation. The plan was to rescue a Yorktown Heights, NY, hotdog truck operator from his business. The mission? Hop on a hot air balloon with the rescuee and his family.

The trip was the first awarded as part of the Banana Boat Rescues contest, in which consumers nominate themselves or someone they know to be “rescued” for a day and celebrate the sun. When Frank Adamo learned in early June that his son-law, Jamie Arko, nominated him — and that he had won — he was awestruck.

“How many people win something?” Adamo asks. “I never thought it would be me. I really like the idea of being rescued. It's not often that I am able to get out and enjoy the day.”

His granddaughter Michelle discovered the contest from suncare product manufacturer Banana Boat in May while surfing the Web for sunless tanning products. She promptly told her father.

“I said, ‘This is perfect for my father-in-law,’” Arko recalls. “If anybody needed to be rescued, it was him.”

In his essay, Arko explained how his 68-year-old father-in-law longed to escape the heat of the hot dog truck, which he has operated for the last 35 years. He got his wish.

On June 8, the big day arrived. Joining Adamo on his first-ever hot air balloon trip were his son-in-law and two granddaughters, Michelle, 17, and Emily, 9. The family traveled via limousine from their home to Middletown, NY, for a picnic spread (with tubes of Banana Boat sunscreen products on hand).

A passing summer storm two hours before takeoff didn't dampen spirits, though the wind direction dictated an alternative takeoff site in nearby Goshen, NY. Around 7:30 p.m., the checkered balloon set sail, slowly gliding over horse farms, woods and backyards during the hour-long journey.

“We're 1,000 feet in the air,” Adamo exclaimed to his wife, Linda, over his cell phone. “It's beautiful.”

“This is very cool,” Arko added, video camera in hand. Emily agreed. “This is the coolest thing I have ever been on,” she shouted.

By 8:30 p.m., the balloon came to a rest. The Adamo-Arko family toasted the ride of their lives with glasses of champagne and water. “This has been one of the highlights of my life,” Adamo said.

Mine, too.