October 9, 2011 – Balloon Fiesta, Day 9 And Happy Birthday Andy

Happy, Happy Birthday to my Andy – :-)).

We decided to hang around this last morning and we were rewarded by lots of balloons:

OR

https://picasaweb.google.com/gardenhavens/100911MassA?authuser=0&feat=directlink

 

This afternoon we had our CARE auction where we raised over $2800.   CARE (Continuing Assistance for Retired Escapees) is a nonprofit organization that is located in Livingston, Texas.  Its mission is to provide a safe haven with professional assistance at affordable prices for members whose travels are permanently ended because of age or temporarily interrupted because of health problems.    Here is a link to their site:

http://www.escapeescare.org

And this evening we all went to the Chinese Buffet to celebrate Andy’s Birthday.

Tomorrow we are heading out – we will miss everyone but hope to meet up again further on down the road.

October 8, 2011 – Balloon Fiesta, Day 8

After all the wind and rain yesterday, we woke this morning to clear skies and cold temps – brrr.   And check out the snow on the mountain..

We decided to head over to the field to see the mass ascension.  The field was very wet from all the rain and dawn patrol was late getting off the ground.   And as it became later, we did not think it was a go.   But once the sun came up, all the activity started and….

Can I say oh my again……

 

OR

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/gardenhavens/100811MassA?authuser=0&feat=directlink

 

 

Afterwards, we were entertained by Navy Seals Leapfrog Team – WOW!

 

 

 

Very impressive.

Snow was still on the mountain this afternoon:

 

 

Shelly and Bill treated us to a great dinner and birthday cake for Andy (his birthday is tomorrow).  And then we all headed over to the field for the Balloon Glow.

How about this sunset!

 

 

 

The best way to see the glow is in videos:

And we ended the night watching the fireworks – what a wonderful day.

October 5-7, 2011 – Balloon Fiesta, Day 5 and 6 and 7

Wednesday

Today we played tourist and went to Old Town Albuquerque:

 

With many of the old villages, the center is a Catholic Church/Mission and we were not disappointed.  This is the San Felipe de Neri, Albuquerque’s Oldest Catholic Parish:

 

It was beautiful.   Here is more information:

http://sanfelipedeneri.org/

Some scenes from the town:

 

 

 

We had a great lunch at the Church Street cafe:

 

And, of course, we had a great time goofing off – the girls shopping and the guys just hanging out.

   

 

Thursday

The storm system is still upon us.  This morning was suppose to be the Special Shapes Rodeo where all the special shapes take off.  We decided not to go over to the field because we figured since Dawn Patrol did not take off because of the wind that the special shapes would not even inflate.  But they did inflate for a short time (ah well – :-( ).

So the rest of the day was just a hang out day.  We went to Camping World for a new GPS – a Rand McNally RVND 5510 – made especially for RVs  (will let you know later how we like it).   Then after lunch I picked up our mail (thanks, Tina) and did some shopping – needed a few supplies.

The wind and rain continued all day – Yuck.   And the temperature is dropping.   Brrr.

Friday

The rain continued on and off today.  This morning all activities were cancelled so Sue, Shelly, and I went to the Rio Grande Arts and Crafts Fair.   Beautiful items but I only bought 2 pair of earrings.

Then this evening we all got together for an evening of chatting and laughing – :-)))).

Our original plan after the fiesta was to head to northern New Mexico then across northern AZ exploring some of the Native Lands and scenery.  However, some of those areas this morning had snow so we made need to rethink which way we will head.  Stay tuned.

October 4, 2011 – Balloon Fiesta – Day 4

We made our way over to the Balloon Launching Field early this morning because we were scheduled to work. However, once the pilot came back from the briefing, she informed us that she could not use us BUT one of her friends could.

So we arrived at his launch site and he and his crew were very happy to see us and we had a WONDERFUL time.   We helped launched the balloon; then chased; then helped pack up.

Our Balloon (Pirate’s Treasure):

Our Pilot  “Terrible Tom” – he was great:

Our crew:

I am awestruck every day when I see these balloons and have realized that no matter where you are, there is a great view.  This slideshow is from our chase and touchdown:

OR

https://picasaweb.google.com/gardenhavens/100411MassAOut?authuser=0&feat=directlink

When we got back to the campground, there were balloons landing all over:

OR

https://picasaweb.google.com/gardenhavens/100411MassAIn?authuser=0&feat=directlink

 

Oh my again – another wonderful sightseeing day.

This afternoon, the storms rolled in; the temperature dropped; and it was just icky!   We tried having our CARE auction but the storm and wind ended it.  We were also supposed to have out potluck but the storms cancelled that.  However, since Sue, Shelly and I already had our food made, we got together at Sue and Bruce’s and had a wonderful evening.

The weather forecast is not the best for the next few days..but, hey, that could change so stay tuned.

Have a wonderful day and hug the ones your love.

One last photo – check out the stormy skies but the sun on the mesa.

October 3, 2011 – Balloon Fiesta – Day 3

Another wonderful morning watching the balloons fly over us and helping.

The first one to land was the one carrying the flag. Andy ran over to help them fold the flag:

         

And he kept busy the rest of the morning. Here he is holding the crown line on two different balloons:

Part of our helper clan:

And they just kept coming and coming oh my!!!

 

OR

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/gardenhavens/100311MassA?authuser=0&feat=directlink

And a little bit of sad news. When we went shopping this afternoon, we did not lock all the doors (part of my trusting soul) and our GPS was stolen… What a bummer.

Tonight at Happy Hour we were entertained by Linda Wheeler – great singer:

Afterwards we celebrated Bill’s birthday at a great Italian restaurant.

One last photo – how about this view from our motorhome – WOW!:

We are blessed.

Enjoy today.

October 2, 2011 – Balloon Fiesta, Day 2

Today we decided to “sleep in” and stay by the RV and we were so rewarded with many of the balloons flying over us:

We also ended up helping a few of the balloons as they landed in the field.   As I was standing with Chuck and Jan, this pilot yelled for help and the three of us helped stop and hold the basket until their crew arrived:

Another balloon that was helped by those of us on the ground – this one was scary and HUGE – thank God there was another crew on the ground to help out:

There was one lady who came in REAL ROUGH.  Andy was there first and the rest of us just helped hold the basket until she was able to get the envelope down.  Both pilot and passenger were okay, just a little shaken.

And of course more pictures of today:

 

OR

https://picasaweb.google.com/gardenhavens/100211MassA?authuser=0&feat=directlink

This afternoon we just hung out.  This evening we were scheduled to work the Balloon Glow so we left happy hour early to get to our space on time.  There was some confusion on where to meet – we received one location from the volunteer booth but Chuck was able to get the correct site from the internet.  Once there we met the regular crew who took us to the pilot briefing.   Back at the site, we met the pilot and more crew and then there was a lot of confusion on whether they could use us or not (???).   Anyway with the way the winds were blowing we did not inflate.   However some balloons did and we were able to capture a video (hope this comes out – it is the first time I am trying a video on the blog):

Video of Balloon Glow

We headed back and watched the fireworks from the park – great show – :-))).

Enjoy today .