Oh, yes–we’ve done this up-by-the-crack-of-dawn, 4th of July, balloon festival thing since the caveman days. I can prove it too–check HERE and HERE…and…oh, that’s enough. Just trust me.
But THIS time the “crack of dawn” meant 5:45am instead of our usual 6:30am wake-up call.
We were determined to get there BEFORE all the balloons were in the air.
Please be amazed at all these adorable smiling faces–so very, very early in the morning!
Of course our beloved fruit pizza breakfast could have something to do with it! We are, I’m afraid–hopeless traditionalists and once something is in our celebration routine–it ain’t never coming out. :}
We had a bit more of a wait for the balloons to fill because the skies were so cloudy that the officials were nervous about lightning and wind.
We were forced to content ourselves with whatever means were available to us.
Such good sports on this silly, chilly morning.
At last, at last–a few brave souls began torching up their balloons…
all around us.
Oooooh–ooooOOh. Haven’t seen THIS guy before. Spoooky!
We spotted some of our dear friends in the crowd too–what a lovely surprise!
Who knew that there were so many crazy early-bird people in the world?
There’s just something about a field of gigantic balloons that make you feel very small and peaceful…even in a crowd.
That is, of course, until the wind kicks up and they all start deflating…
and blowing over on everyone! It was actually kinda funny–everyone running and yelling as the big things were flapping down on us. Sorry–no pictures. Too busy running!
In a matter of minutes the entire park was emptied of any sign of balloons. Gone. Just like that.
I have a feeling that this event, for us anyway, doesn’t have as much to do with the balloons as you might think. Seriously–you know our motto…
Any. Excuse. To. Play.
Heh.
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…or just any excuse to do something together 🙂 Love you guys!
P.S. I really like the picture of the balloon getting all fired up that you took! It’s right in that in between moment when it goes from flat it up-right in just a matter of seconds. Pretty sweet!
How fun! However, that is way too early for me and my crew. Thanks for all the pretty pictures! 😉
I had talked this up to my kids for weeks.
We woke early, got Einstein bagels, drove around Bulldog, to only see 4 balloons inflated.
We parked up on the hill and watched for a while, but nothing else came up. We finally just drove home and collapsed back in bed.
Thank you for your explanation. I will start praying now for better weather next year.
I love the 4th of July and think it’s great to stretch the day out by starting it out so early! I do wish that the weather had been more cooperative, but it was still fun to be together. A surprising bonus of the random weather, was that it made for a perfect stroll around the booths later. It’s usually SOOO sooo SOOO hot and this time it was a lot nicer! 😉