Up, up and away!

This blog post will be short on words and long on pictures to show what a wonderful experience attending a hot air balloon festival is.

I treated my hubby to a get-away weekend in Foley Alabama at the 7th Annual Hot Air Balloon Fest. Both the "glow" event and the flight of the balloons were equally exciting.

We arrived on Friday night to experience the "Glow Event". This begins with watching teams inflate their huge balloons and then light them up with the propane feed that eventually helps them fly. It was our first experience and I must say that I was as excited as a kid at Christmas watching all of the balloons come to life.








The "glow" happens as the balloonists open up their their propane valves to inflate the balloons. It's best seen right at sunset and it's an impressive sight.


This is what the igniter looks like



This balloon is glowing!









Some of the balloons took off that night and it was an awesome sight.



Saturday morning was to start right at sunrise and we made sure we'd be there to watch the balloons arrive at the festival grounds.



We arrived by 6AM and the moon was still up. There were rain clouds present, which made the arrival of the balloons run a little late. Balloons will not fly if there is a chance of high winds or lightening for obvious reasons.


So we bided our time taking pictures of the early morning light

The late running balloons made up for it with their beauty. Behold

































I think I may have found a new passion. It's a fantastic sport and one I can appreciate from the ground!!!

For anyone anywhere interested in attending a festival, here is a website for all hot air balloon fests. Enjoy!