After a too-short Summer, the Balloon Fiesta is the most prominent sign that Fall is here!! I say this because even in late October, temperatures have still been in the 70s, so the leaves haven't changed and it doesn't FEEL like fall. However, the cooler mornings provide the best weather for balloon launches, which means Balloon Fiesta time! This year, we had the pleasure of having my parents come to town to spend a long weekend with us and attend the Fiesta. They flew in on Thursday evening and stayed until the following Tuesday, able to entertain themselves around town while Cari and I worked on Friday and Monday. We went to the Fiesta on Friday night, which was the "Special Shapes Glowdeo." During this event, the special shapes balloons (kangaroo, Spongebob, etc) stay on the ground, but light up at various times. The result is awesome, especially at night. There were tons of people there, but we enjoyed taking pictures, walking around, and eating great/unhealthy food. After the glow, there was a fireworks show, which was beyond expectations.
Not 10 hours later, we were back at the park, bright and early on Saturday morning for the mass ascension. Last year, Cari and I waited until the last day to go see this event, and it was unfortunately canceled. So, we chose to go on Saturday just in case. This was a great decision since the weather was fantastic! After watching over 100 balloons launch and taking lots of pictures, we enjoyed a nice greasy breakfast before heading home. The traffic was a little worse, and the LONG walk to our car + getting up super early wiped us out. So, we hung around the house for the day and watched Carolina play football on TV. Saturday night, we enjoyed an excellent dinner at El Pinto and watched the Balloon Fiesta fireworks again from the restaurant parking lot afterwards.
Sunday consisted of getting up early to watch the balloons launch one last time from the dog park, going to church, an early victorious soccer game, lunch at The Grove, hanging around here/nap time, movies, dinner at Scarpas, and back for more football on TV. We also enjoyed a chill evening Monday night after work, with incredible homemade green chile chicken enchiladas compliments of my wife. :) Overall, it was a great visit with family, and an excellent time at the Balloon Fiesta. We can't wait to go home and see family again for Christmas. Thanks for coming out, Mom and Dad!!
