I have got to say it was one of the coolest things I've done in awhile - and all I had to do was sit back and watch.
No, I didn't take Zach to a human-sized Candyland. Here he is kneeling in front of a few hot air balloons being inflated and sent off into the sky.There must have been 20 or so hot air balloons that all gathered at the local Union County airport in Marysville - their owners hauled them in on Ford Econoline vans and Toyota Tundra pickup trucks, towing their woven hanging baskets behind them. They parked all up and down the single landing strip this 'bustling' airport has, and within one hour of the opening of the festival, promptly started racing to see who could inflate first and get up, up, and away into the air!
Zach and I arrived with about 200 other folks right as the gates opened, to sit back and watch. It was really quite interesting. Sure, there were typical summertime fair concession stands there and a live band, plus inflatable gym sets for kiddies to play on. But I was so engrossed by the balloons. I had never seen a hot air balloon in person, up close, before! I have wanted to ride in one SO BADLY.
We have a winner! The first balloon peeling off of the ground.
My personal pick, my favorite balloon out of all of them at the festival. I liked the simple candy-cane look. Mmmm!
All of the balloons, drifting over Dublin and Columbus.
I do have a few .mvi files of the balloon glow too, but I am skipping out on learning how to upload those to Blogger at this time. :-)
All in all, a great way to spend 5 bucks for an unlimited admission fee.
The next time I see a hot air balloon, I'd like to be riding in it!
Zach and I arrived with about 200 other folks right as the gates opened, to sit back and watch. It was really quite interesting. Sure, there were typical summertime fair concession stands there and a live band, plus inflatable gym sets for kiddies to play on. But I was so engrossed by the balloons. I had never seen a hot air balloon in person, up close, before! I have wanted to ride in one SO BADLY.
We have a winner! The first balloon peeling off of the ground.Panoramic view of the balloon festival - fascinating! The little kid in me was so giddy.
My personal pick, my favorite balloon out of all of them at the festival. I liked the simple candy-cane look. Mmmm! 
All of the balloons, drifting over Dublin and Columbus.The balloons returned about two hours later to put on a nighttime light show for the audience, called a 'Balloon Glow.' It was neat! All of the balloons parked back out on the airport landing strip and used their propane tanks to jet some flame up and into their balloons - lighting them up against the humid summer nighttime sky.
The balloon owners all had walkie-talkies to radio to one another signals of when to fire off their balloon tanks. It was like a coordinated show, flickering balloons all up and down the row at random, then consecutively, then all at once, then random, then at hyperactive speed, etc. I felt like I was six years old and at Disney World again, watching their nighttime parades at Magic Kingdom.
The balloon owners all had walkie-talkies to radio to one another signals of when to fire off their balloon tanks. It was like a coordinated show, flickering balloons all up and down the row at random, then consecutively, then all at once, then random, then at hyperactive speed, etc. I felt like I was six years old and at Disney World again, watching their nighttime parades at Magic Kingdom.
All in all, a great way to spend 5 bucks for an unlimited admission fee.
The next time I see a hot air balloon, I'd like to be riding in it!
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