Thursday, July 14, 2011

They Went Up....And Then Came Down.....

The alarm went off at 4:50 AM.
That's just plain early...
not even bright yet
so I can't say Bright and Early.

I woke Chelsea and we got
ready to drive to Bird-in-Hand to meet
the Grandma's and the Hot Air Balloon Team.


This was the balloon preparing for its morning mission
as we arrived....the sun popping up behind it.



Can you believe they were able to smile
at this hour of the morning?
With the nerves and everything.


 This photo is right side up. 
It was one of the funniest moments of the day.
Turns out you don't climb into the basket.
You lay in the basket and then it sits up when it is ready.

To see the faces of the soon to be ballooners as they 
lay there was priceless.
No one was expecting this....

See the man just past my Mom?
He was terrified.
The whole time.
That would have been me.
He and his wife were celebrating 
their anniversary.
I think he is a gem.



Filling the balloon......





The Basket is now right side up!





Getting Georgia's attention for a photo
was tough.  She was really into what was
happening inside the balloon.






 And then they were off!



 
I had been told the town they thought they were 
headed for.....
but funny things can happen when you rise up
3,000 feet and the only control you have is 
up or down.

They missed their goal town by about five miles to the west.
I ran a quick errand and then headed for the expected 
destination.  I was confused when I didn't see the balloon
but kept driving in faith that I would find them soon.

Finally I spotted them way out in the distance
and took the most direct route I could think of.
Out into the country....
they flew over the home of 
our friends at Creekside Cottage,
I finally caught up with them over beautiful farmland
south of a small town called The Buck!


 Mom, Chelsea and Georgia
saw me and were waving.
One lady asked Mom, 
"Who are we waving at?"

Mom said, 
"That's my daughter."

So she waved too.





A quick peek at the beautiful farm where they landed.

Look!  They survived!
What a fun morning.
The pilot said it is very difficult to chase a hot air
balloon....I would have to agree.
But it was worth the effort and I think I enjoyed it 
every bit as much as the ones who rode.
Can you believe they could 
see all the way to the 
Bay and Philadelphia?
I thought Mom was teasing me
when she said that later.
But, no,
It was that clear today.
They picked a winner.

I'll steal some of Chelsea's photos
from the balloon for another post.

Hope you enjoy this day.

15 comments:

Vee said...

How's your mom doing? I can't tell that she had fun from that last picture. So what did they say about the landing? That's the part that keeps me on the ground; otherwise, I'd really love to do this. (It's a possibility because we have a balloon festival coming up in August.)

sherry said...

oh my goodness, i'd **never** do this and am completely in awe of those who *do*! this is amazing. :o)

Theresa said...

Oh how fun, gorgeous day, gorgeous smiles and the balloon was beautiful! I would be like the little man... scared to death:) Have a blessed day and I can't wait to see pictures from the balloon! Farm picture is soooo pretty!

HUGS!

Joyce said...

What a fun ride. I had no idea how to get into that basket either. Next time you need to take a ride:-)
Joyce

Anonymous said...

This is on our bucket list!! I would LOVE to do this! Thanks for sharing the photos. Just beautiful!

PJ @ Planned in Pencil said...

amazing! How absolutely fun for all of them. I think I would do it, at least I hope I would, given the chance.

Barb said...

Wow, what an adventure! That balloon is big!!!!

Great pics, Becky.

Barb ♥

Elena said...

Wow, how cool! I have always wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride. I don't know if I will ever make it or not. I really enjoyed this post and all the pictures. How fun!!

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Oh bummer that we didn't know they flew over! I would have gone out to wave!!!

It looks like such an awesome trip!

Deanna

Terri Steffes said...

Cool! I want to do that now! I guess I will be adding it to my bucket list!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad it was a clear day for their ride! I chased a hot air balloon once, a long time ago. I agree it isn't the easiest thing to do!

Gayla said...

All I can say is, "Praise the Lord that it's over!!!" I'm afraid I wouldn't ever be able to do that. I'm pretty afraid of heights... But what an amazing morning and memory... One Chelsea will never ever forget... Hugs from your land lubber friend in MO.

Bee said...

They are brave and amazing women! All the generations!

Kelly said...

That always seemed like a fun idea to me, but I'm sure that I would be terrified, too, as I do not enjoy heights at all. It sure looks like they enjoyed it, though.

Karen said...

Wow, so cool!

I didn't realize they had to lay down to start-you got a neat pic of that.

I'll make sure to show this to the girls-they will be excited to read all about it.