Balloon Classic Invitational ~ 2011

I can't believe I never blogged about the Balloon Classic Invitational.  It took place during our busy summer at camp, and my blogging wasn't at it's best.  Recently though, I've noticed a few bloggers posting hot air balloon pics, and it reminded me of our experience.

On this July evening, we threw some chairs in the back of the van thinking that we'd pull up and park somewhere to watch the balloons.  We had been given some recommendations about just where the "good spots" were to park, and so that was our plan. Our family of four piled into the van, and headed for the area where all of the festival-ish stuff was happening, knowing that we'd find our perfect parking space.

Ha!  Have you ever BEEN on an adventure with my husband?  No, of course you haven't. ADVENTURE is the key word.  Just when I think I know exactly how things will go... I don't.

Turns out, the city was abuzz, and people were EVERYwhere... walking... driving... parking.... and shelling out lots of cash to do so.  [Sound the buzzer - game over.]  If there's anything we hate to do it's shell out big cash for parking.  So, we took a different approach. Afterall, those balloons (which we were already seeing overhead) were on the move, right?

You guessed it.  We were on the move too -- a new challenge overhead.

Not only did we see lots of balloons overhead, but when we saw them from a distance, we "raced" to find them.  We were lucky enough to see some on the ground, as well as some coming in for a landing.  It was really pretty exciting.

Hmmm... now that I'm looking back at these photos... THIS may explain why the roof of our van is caving in?  J-U-S-T kidding.  {We punched out that dent MONTHS ago! - LOL}

LOVE these two!