Sunday, May 29, 2011

30 Before 30 List - #1 Ride in a Hot Air Balloon


The #1 item on my "30 Things to do before I turn 30" list is ride in a hot air balloon. 

Well, guess what? 



CHECK!! 

When I saw two of my Facebook friends post pictures of hot air balloons last night, I knew that this was my chance! I gathered a group of friends, and today we set off for an adventure! It was the Alabama Jubilee and Hot Air Balloon Festival in Decatur, and we got there mid-afternoon. We bought giant snow-cones and walked around for a little bit. It was so hot I thought my feet were getting sunburned just from the reflection off of the asphalt!


The balloons were taking forever to show up, so some of our friends had to leave without even seeing them. Alisha and I said goodbye to Leah Kathryn, Jonathan and Brittny and continued to enjoy the people-watching paradise that is an Alabama festival. Finally the balloons were inflated and we walked around marveling at the bright colors. 



As we strolled, we ran into someone that I knew, if only from old reruns I have watched at my grandparents' house. It was Guy Penrod, my Granny Rachel's favorite singer from the Gaither Gospel Hour! He was playing on the Jubilee stage that night, and, after some prodding from Alisha, I finally asked if I could get a picture made with him. He was very nice, and when I called Granny to tell her, she actually squealed!


We got in line to go up for a ride in one of the balloons and met our balloon-mates, a little boy who was afraid of heights and his grandfather. They were very nice, and the boy did great once we got up in the air. It was a very long line, but we finally got to go up in the balloon right before dusk! I was so busy taking a picture of the inside of the balloon that I didn't even realize we had started rising! The balloons were beautiful as it got darker; the fire from the... mechanism... lit up the inside like a lantern. It was very peaceful, for the 60 seconds that we were in the air, then it was back to solid ground for us. What a fun adventure with my friend, and I get to check off one more thing on my list! 




Ok, maybe that kid wasn't doing so great with his fear of heights...



2 comments:

  1. Yea, I am so happy you were able to go up in a balloon!!
    Lydia

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