We took off to track down a landing and, much to our great surprise, we found "The Great Tony." He had already landed and they were beginning to pack him up but, because he is another one of our favorite balloons, we had to stop anyway. As we were watching them load him up, a balloon came over the trees just across the road and landed right before our eyes.
We were on a roll so we followed another balloon that was sailing on a bit farther to another part of town to see if we could watch them land. Chasing balloons holds a lot of excitement in the last moments before a balloon decides just exactly where to make their landing. Often you have to drive in and out of several locations before you peg the actual spot they will come down. On this morning, after 3 attempts, we pulled into an apartment complex just as the balloon landed. The pilot was excellent with the crowd of children that had quickly gathered and led them through the entire process of packing up the balloon. 
We watched the balloons overhead on Saturday night but we were headed out of town to a Circlslide concert* and fireworks so we were unable to chase them. On Sunday morning I again timed my run perfectly so I was able to enjoy a sky full of balloons. I deviated from my typical route and ran right along side the airport. At one point I was able to count 26 balloons. Then, on the final night of the air show, the parents of 2 sweet girls I had cared for during my last months of home daycare, gave us VIP passes into the air show. This meant free food and seats that were actually on the air field (which were so good you felt like you could have reached out to touch the Thunderbirds as they roared overhead. A few pictures follow-and to think I left my telescopic lens at home. You would have seen the pilots faces had I brought that along:) 
And then, finally, after some delay due to the winds, the balloons were cleared for a final lift off. The goal on this particular night was to fly into the airport, drop your bean bag as close to the target as possible, and then land elsewhere. Due to the winds, several had rather rough landings right on the airfield after they attempted to descend low enough to drop their bean bags into the target. This had Jayce rather worried. We had a great time at the show and hanging out with the Clark family---thank you so much for sharing with us!*The Fourth of July Circleslide concert was great as always. We enjoyed time with the Moodys, watching the fireworks, and catching up with friends including the Leonardsons. Jayce especially enjoyed the "sliver" of a broken drumstick he was able to retrieve after the show which he got autographed by the entire band. After watching Lee that night, I'm convinced Jayce has made it his goal to start breaking a drumstick here and there---his drumming (which is getting unbelievably good) has been more skilled and emphatic ever since.
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1 comment:
I miss doing this. We have so much fun at the camp over the fourth of July that it's hard to leave to go and do anything else. But next year I'm for sure going to be taking Gabe to see the balloons!
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