Balloon Fiesta - Part 2

The morning Balloon Fiesta event that we attended was specifically focused on the Special Shapes balloons. The kids were especially interested in seeing the wide variety of special shapes. I remember as a kid, this being my favorite part of the Balloon Fiesta as well. Here are some close-up pictures of some of the many special shapes:

 

Sometimes, a couple balloons pair together thematically, so they always inflate and lift off together. Some examples included this cowboy and armadillo,

and this alien and UFO.

Grammy, with the maiden name of Sylvester, especially enjoyed this balloon. We thought the feather hanging out of Sylvester's mouth was an especially creative touch.

Some special shapes were even around when I was a kid. Some of the old "classics" were this high-top sneaker and the Arabelle cow balloon at the top of the next photo.

Seeing so many of these special shapes lift off together is so entertaining. We thought this view of the guy with the telescope starting down at the astronaut was amusing. What a fantastic event this was!

Unfortunately, not all of the events were quite as smooth. On our first day in Albuquerque, we tried attending an evening balloon glow. At this event, all of the balloons remain tethered to the ground but ignite their burners, creating a cool flickering, glowing effect all across the field. We were excited to see this unique event! Our family rode this Park N Ride bus to the balloon field that night. 

As the evening progressed, however, the winds became increasingly stronger, and the balloon glow was canceled. What a bummer! All we got to show for our efforts that evening was this family photo by the Albuquerque sign.

Another evening, we tried watching the balloon glow from a lookout point several miles away. We had a decent view for a while, but then a huge rainstorm fell upon us out of nowhere. At least we weren't on the field that night! Not surprisingly, we packed up quickly and started to drive off. Before leaving, however, we noticed that the balloon field still set off their evening fireworks. We enjoyed watching this display from the comfort of our warm, dry vehicles!

On our last morning in Albuquerque, we went to another lookout point to view the Fiesta's final mass ascension. The weather was good for this event, thankfully, but there weren't nearly as many balloons that took off. We had a decent view of the balloons but especially enjoyed our Albuquerque breakfast-- donuts and breakfast burritos.

Seeing the Albuquerque sunrise over the Sandia Mountains was beautiful, as always!

Lots of other people had the same lookout idea as we did!

Our Albuquerque visit was primarily taken up with balloon events, but we did squeeze in a few other experiences--- visiting the Explora Science Museum,

driving by my old childhood home and playing at a nearby playground where I spent many hours as a kid,

having a yummy picnic lunch,

and catching up with some Albuquerque friends, including Dan and Sharon Thorpe,

and Auntie Tyler.

We also spent a fair amount of downtime in the hotel rooms playing games with cousins. It was so nice to be able to experience this vacation together!

Great memories in Albuquerque!