10/4/14 - The Balloon Fiesta
/Hi, it's Dianna again. Wait until you hear what we did today! This was the big day of the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. We made plans to go as a group and be there for the Dawn Patrol that launches at about 6:00 AM. That meant we would meet in the lobby of the hotel at 4:50 AM. Joe and Priscilla were so excited they were there at 4:40.(Really!). About a mile from the hotel we caught a yellow school bus shuttle to the Fiesta. It was dark and a little chilly and the stars were still out. The first thing we did was get in line for hot chocolate or coffee and a breakfast burrito (with or without Hatch chilies), of course! I wasn't sure my stomach was ready for breakfast that early. The chilies might not have been a good choice, but even without, the burrito was tasty. Other breakfast fare were pizza and hamburger burritos. It was a carnival there in the dark with tents filled with balloon paraphernalia, jewelry, hats and scarves, art, whirly-gigs and glow sticks and more. People were wearing crazy hats and blankets and many were carrying small sleepy children on their shoulders.
We found a picnic table that we could share with a nice local family with kids and waited to see what happened next. We waited. It was chilly, as I said. I walk way down the carnival aisle to see what I could see and accidentally found the area where the dawn patrol was beginning to inflate their balloons. There was a crowd milling around them and I could get pretty close to see how they did it. When they started the flames to send warm air into the balloons they lite up like huge light bulbs. It was spectacular, and if I got close enough, I could even get warm, myself. Back at the picnic table they were seeing these gigantic balloons rising slowly from the ground and blinking like Christmas lights. Then we watched from each of our vantage points as each balloon ascended to cheers into the velvety black sky and floated among the stars. I could no longer wonder if this early, early morning excursion was worth the lost sleep. I would have been very sorry to miss this spectacle for a few hours more sleep. It was an aesthetic pleasure that I will remember.
I went back to the picnic table through the field of deflated balloons waiting their turn to rise. By the time I arrived, the sun was coming up and balloons were starting to pop up and shine in the shafts of early light. We all were taking pictures and videos as fast as we could. The crowd was swirling around the balloons, looking up, and sometimes walking between half inflated balloons that made colorful silk tunnels. There were about 575 balloons there this morning and for over 2 hours the air was full of these lovely floating conveyances. They are fanciful, but they also carry 4-6 people in the wicker basket gondolas as they sail in the wind. What a sight! For more Balloon Fiesta pix click here.
So, guess what we did when we finally left the Fiesta. That's right. We took naps. After we were once again rested and ready, we traveled to Rebecca's and Jeff's new house in SE Albuquerque. They were so nice to invite this big bunch of visitors to have hamburgers, Margarettas and chocolate cake on their balcony. I think the dogs, Milly and Fin, their 1 year old labs, were very excited to have company. As a nod to "Breaking Bad" which was set in Albuquerque, we had meth doughnuts and each of us got a little bag of meth to take home with us. It was blue crystallized sugar. (Don't freak out. It wasn't that kind of party.)
Tonight some of us will be going back to the Fiesta for the fireworks and After Glow when the balloons will be on the ground, but inflated and glowing. You can see the best pix and videos in the Balloon Fiesta photo gallery.
Tomorrow is the car show. So far, the T-Bird is well and driving fine. It is no longer threatening to fall into a vapor-locky swoon and may actually arrive at the car show in all its glory. Remember, the judging of the Name Your Car contest will be Monday 10/6, so get your entry in soon!
