What a Special Morning!

Ken was up rather early but did go back to sleep on the couch!  I awake at 7:15 to a phone call from my mother.  She is better, but getting impatient with how long it is taking to feel 100% and get her strength back!

We assumed that the balloons would not go up this morning but when we opened the blind at our front window there were 5 balloons in our line of vision. So, we quickly got dressed and walked to the open field beside our group's food tent (about 4 sites from Waldo) with our chairs and tea in hand.  What an unbelievable sight to see - hundreds of balloons flying right in front of us even the character balloons.  So much for the late night news report and I am sure a surprise for Pilot Mike.  Several of the balloons landed very near the motorhomes and 1 landed and took off again right in front of us.  I can't even begin to explain the beauty of the balloon filled sky!  It was so spectacular to see the character balloons in flight also!

Here are some of the sights we witnessed (again bear with me for there are many photos and we deleted almost as many as we saved)!

Our 1st view this morning!

The dog was huge!

So much color!

The scarecrow was large too!!

This was a very unusual 3 sided balloon!

Cute, don't you think????

I think the dog is "zoning in" on the fire hydrant!

This one is for you, Cindy of the Frogettes!

Adorable crab and dragon!

Looks like the Phillies Fanatic is making friends with
Annie the Ladybug!

A better picture of the crab!

Balloons, Balloons, and more Balloons!

We had quite a group of campers enjoying the view!

This is Annie the Ladybug that we helped set-up and take down
 last evening!  Pilot Mike and his wife are great people!

This balloon almost landed on the motorhomes, but took
flight again and kept on flying!

This is the open field where we were sitting along the edge!

A great photo of Humpty Dumpty!

A very colorful butterfly!

Another one for you, Cindy!

Landed beside the motorhomes!

This octupus was one of my favorties
with the fish, starfish, and dolphin!

I think he is ready for a night on the town!!!!

We watched the balloons for about 1 1/2 hours and then decided it was time for showers and a light breakfast.  We went through all the photos from this morning and I did some work on the blog.  

At 11:45 we left the Balloon Fiesta Park and enjoyed a delicious lunch at Sweet Tomato.  What a surprise to find that chain here in Albuquerque.  We go to the delicious salad, soup and dessert type restaurant when in Florida, but never expected to find one here.  It was delightful.  Then a quick trip to Wal-Mart and Costco returning to Waldo at 2:30.  Then the real work on the blog began!

We joined our HOPS Escapees group at 4:30 for a delicious dinner and had a nice chat with the folks at our table.  We talked with a couple who do lots of volunteer work with a Christian  RV Organization called Sowers.  We will do some research on that group.  

Ken and I took a walk around some of the Park and spent time chatting with numerous folks we met along the way. Dot, Harvey, and Dave were outside Dave's rig playing music, so we stopped to listen and visit. 

Then we talked with Gretchen who is a good contact when Ken and I decide to fulfill one of my bucket list items, a trip to the Rose Parade in Pasadena.  She lives in that area and can get you connected with one of the florists that is in charge of several of the floats and you can help with the float for 4 days prior to the parade.  That would be an experience.

Then we met with 2 couples (a brother, sister, and their spouses) who are relatively new to RVing and they were so happy to hear about some of our adventures and "tales" of the road.  We laughed a lot!

Ken and I decided to take our chairs to the same area where we watched the balloons this morning to get a good view of tonight's fireworks.  We debated about going into the park but many of our neighbors said the view from here is wonderful.  So, that is how we ended our evening.