Ah yes, Airship Ventures. [1]

I got to ride on one of their last Bay Area flights. It was one of the most fun things I've ever done. See [2] for photos. The lake with houses around it is Larry Ellison's home.

Passenger boarding was interesting. The zeppelin is hovering when you board, so they don't have everyone get off before the new passengers get on. The zeppelin would float away! Instead, they swap passengers one by one to keep the weight stable.

Once on board, the passengers are in the same cabin with the pilots, so we could talk with the pilots, see how they fly the airship, and ask for little sightseeing detours along the way.

Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei still operates tours in southern Germany. [3] If you ever get a chance to ride on one, do it!

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airship_Ventures

[2] https://geary.smugmug.com/Flying/Airship-Ride/

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Zeppelin_Reederei

I remember seeing them go overhead once in a while. I hadn’t realized they ceased operations. Just a couple of days ago I saw a blimp overhead, I thought it was them, but it must have been the Goodyear blimp moving between football games. I believe Goodyear uses Moffet Field as a staging stop on occasion.