Up bright and early for the Dawn Patrol where six balloons launch and determine the safety factors of wind speed and direction prior to the Mass Ascension. So with coffee mug in hand, we sat in our outdoor chairs and looked skyward. Before long we were rewarded with two hours of "child-like" joy and fascination as the mass of balloons headed our way. Winds were in our favor.
Today's thrills came from trying to identify our childhood animation creatures and creatures over the past decades. It was fun and exciting as each one passed overhead and sadly some literally ran out of air and crunched into surrounding buildings and fields. I'll just post these pictures without comments for the most part. See how many you can remember.
Fire Hydrant Down. It's in a picture above.
Dino Down.
Passing right overhead.
This one went down just past our rigs. Soft landing.
Octopus needed a potty break.
My Favorite.
The liberty bell never really got off the ground.
After two hours we went back inside for breakfast. Bill and could watch them continue flying through our windshield.
Later we all went our for Mexican dinner. The ladies below. L to R. Peggy, MaryJo, Kay, Mary, Me, Judy.
Our dates. L to R. Eddie, Ken, Bill, Russ, Phil, Gary.
This was a beautiful restaurant. The grounds were loaded with plants. We dined outside under the patio.
A few couple shots.
Afterwards we headed to the launching field.
It wasn't 30 minutes after we paid admission to watch the Evening Glow, where the balloons are tethered but all lit up. We were excited. Then the bad news. The red flag went up. Event canceled because of the possible lightening in the threatening skies to the west. Makes sense. Suddenly it started to rain, and rain more.
We waited for the rain to stop and headed to the shuttle bus. The line waiting for a ride was very long so some of us opted to hoof it back. Got some great night shots along the way and arrived back with the first bus.
The Balloon Festival Museum at night.
The once canceled fire works was allowed to go on so we caught a nice display.
So our first full day at the Balloon Festival was a huge success. Those tickets we had just bought to get in tonight will be good for either the morning or evening events tomorrow. We'll be up at 5:30 a.m. to get the shuttle over for the Dawn Patrol launch up close and personal and the Mass Ascension.
Thanks for visiting and please come back soon. Lots more balloons tomorrow. Susan
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