We had never been to Albuquerque and the drive was a nice easy 5 hours away! We met our friends Courtney and Bryan there Friday night and began Sat. morning by waking up at 3:30 a.m. (I'm not sure when the last time was I've seen that time of morning!) We got ready, drove to the park-n-ride and headed for the festival. Anxious and curious we stood around for awhile before they announced that all flights had been cancelled due to the wind. I was heartbroken not sure the wind would be better for that afternoon or for Sunday! So we spent the morning exploring the festival, arts & crafts, the food, souvenirs and the hot air balloon discovery center! Once we were done exploring Kyle and I headed back to the hotel for a quick nap and then we headed to Old Town Alb. Old Town has a plaza where there was a band and dancers and is filled with over 150 stores and galleries! We enjoyed walking around the shops and we enjoyed some amazing food at a quaint place called Church St. Cafe!
Once we finished sight seeing around Old Town we headed back to the park-n-ride for the afternoon session of the festival. Hopeful the wind had calmed, but very uncertain we laid out our blanket on the lawn area and just enjoyed the view of Albuquerque! Kyle was laying down and I was sitting up watching everything and I noticed there was a balloon team getting their basket out of their truck and starting to set-up. Kyle jumped up and before we knew it there were teams getting their balloons ready all over! So the afternoon session consisted of "Twilight Twinkle Glow," which means that the balloons inflate, but never leave the ground and it's called twilight twinkle glow, b/c it happens at dusk and when the gas is fired up into the balloon they all light up and twinkle across the field! It was really breath taking to watch as hundreds of balloons inflated all around us. The best part of the balloon festival is that you walk around and are 5 feet from the balloons as the teams prepare them and blow them up. Truly an amazing experience! After the twinkle glow there was the afterglow fireworks show and you can never go wrong watching fireworks! It was a great end to an amazing day!
Sunday we again woke up at 3:30 am, still not my favorite time of day! We arrived at the park and again we anxiously waited to hear the news of flights or no flights. Finally got the good word that all flights were a go so we began the morning with "Dawn Patrol." Dawn patrol is 10 balloons that inflate and take off at dawn before the mass accession, where 500 balloons would lift into the air. The morning was cold and took all I had to stay warm, but the cool colors of blue and the mountains in the background were astonishing! Before we knew it balloons were inflating all around us and you'd hear a whistle blow and know that one or two or three were about to drift away into the cool morning air!
We had an amazing trip and I'm so thankful Kyle stepped out of his bubble and ended up loving the balloons! We couldn't of asked for a better mini vacation! Now FFA and school events are taking off and before we know it we will be traveling back and forth between Houston and Lubbock for the holidays! Hope you enjoy the pictures below!
A quick update about Baby P: yes we had an ultrasound yesterday and everything is healthy and growing strong for baby! We did find out what Baby P is, but I will post another blog about all that excitement in a few days, waiting to tell some more of the family!
Much love and hot air balloons!
Kyle + Mary + Baby P + Kato & Bear-Bear
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