Flashback Friday: Balloon Races- July 2008
Last year, Cody and I went to our second balloon races in Longview. This time we let my little brother tag along. We’d only been there the Sunday morning races a few year back but knew we wanted to see what the balloon glow is about. It was a long weekend and I’ve got a million pictures, but I’ll try to keep it somewhat condensed.
We were there super early. Parking fills up fast and when you’re not from around there, you want to be prepared. We headed out just after work. It was hot, of course- it’s July. Dryer’s was giving out Dips- and we instantly fell in love with them as we ate them in the shade we found beside an eighteen wheeler trailer. Who wouldn’t fall in love with ice cream on a hot July day- especially when it’s free. There were planes to look at and I took a few shots. We hung out in the grass for quite sometime. . . my brother and I playing dueling cameras and sharing pictures. Our DSLR’s were still really new at the time. Eventually, the festivities really kicked off. The planes flew over.
Then some of the balloons aired up and took a little flight. Cody and I remembered how cool it was to watch them fly and my brother found out what we’d been telling him.
As the festivities turned to the actual Balloon Glow, they sang the anthem. . . and then BOOOM! OK, that’s not quite the sound but it came with a thunderous boom. What was it you ask. . . the sound of hot air balloons lighting up the sky.
I can just about guarantee that Cody, Jack, and I were standing there with our mouth’s wide open in awe. We hadn’t expected that at all. It was a total shock. The awe didn’t stop. You really can’t imagine just what a balloon glow is like until your there. . . walking around all the balloons.
We got home really late. . . and got up just a few hours later. . . turned around and drove all the way back. It’s not but a little over an hour but with very little sleep it felt like forever. Then we waited, and waited. The sun started to come up and we pitched our spot on the grass. . . Then we waited, and waited. It was too windy to fly. We were bummed but so were the balloon racers.
We were faced with another long wait. . . We wanted to see the balloon glow that evening. Gas prices were super high and we didn’t want to drive all the way home. We went to the “unphotographed” park I mentioned yesterday and slept in the truck. After a while, we walked around and I did take pictures, really I promise. Then we went to the Oil Museum. I’d always wanted to do that but I honestly expected something a bit different. I got some of the most awesome pictures of the old town they have set up, really I promise. We went to Circuit City where I got a good camera bag. We went to see Wall-E and really didn’t enjoy it. (I think we were too tired to enjoy it. . . it seemed really slow for a kids movie.) Then we went to Whatatburger. We checked out the great shots that I’d taken, really I promise. My brother had some great ones too and we enjoyed looking at them. . . But then, somehow in my exhaustion, I deleted all my pics from the day. I was sooooooo bummmmmmed.
But, it wasn’t long after that and I was happily snapping away again.
Now, the entire day, we were in contact with my parents trying to get them to come to the Balloon glow. They finally did. And, this time knowing what would happen after they played the anthem, my brother and I set up in tandem with our cameras pointed directly at my parents.
Oh, dad had the same delayed reaction we’d all had the night before. . . the “I should be taking pictures” finally came around to him though. (I love how these images capture the awe of the moment which we’d felt the night before and were reliving again. But, I bet mom’s ready to ”bop me” for posting them.)
We were as enthralled Saturday night as we’d been Sunday night. But, boy were we tired (and hot). Neither of which really bothered us until the lights went out.
A few months later, I booked an air conditioned screen shelter at the state park near where the Balloon races were for the traditional balloon race weekend. . . I did not want to have to make the drive back and forth and wanted to have a place to crash during the day. I wound up having to cancel that reservation as it’s the weekend we went to Corpus Christi following my mother-in-law’s surgery.
That reminds me. . . I need to make a to do to reserve it for next year.
Related posts:
- Flashback Friday: Tugboat Parade
- Flashback Friday: Our Bell Boy
- Flashback Friday: One Weekend, Just Me and Jack
- Flashback Friday: I Nearly Died
- Night Photography on the 4th of July