About 6 months ago, DH bought a brand new fancy SLR Canon camera, and photography has become his new passion … along with hiking and mountain climbing. I don’t usually accompany him on his extreme adventures, but lately we’ve been taking weekend trips to local communities and events.
This weekend was no exception, and we spent it at the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival. This was our first ever hot air balloon festival/experience, and we had a great time watching the balloons and taking photographs.
The festival had four main components: wine tasting, food court, entertainment (concerts) and hot air balloon rides. Unfortunately, at $200 a person, a balloon ride was a *little* out of our price range.
The festival started Friday evening and included a “balloon glow”. To create the glow, balloon pilots ignite their burners simultaneously which causes the colorful balloon envelopes to glow against the dark skies. We’d never been so close to a hot air balloon so this was really exciting. I love how the balloons remind me of quilts. Look at the ones with the Bargello and chevron designs … so pretty!
Saturday morning we arrived just before 6:00 a.m. with excitement and anticipation, expecting to see a mass ascension of balloons. Unfortunately, the weather and wind were not cooperating and the launch was cancelled … sort of.
This annual festival takes place on Lake Skinner which is part of the Riverside County Regional Park, a habitat conservation area for the Stephens’ Kangaroo Rat. The direction the wind was blowing would require the balloons to land in this protected area, so the launch from the county park was nixed.
We knew something was up when we saw a mass exodus of "balloon” vehicles. We quickly left the park area and discovered the balloonists were launching off-site from nearby vacant lots or one of the many wineries in the area.
It was awesome to see the balloons and pilots up close and personal! It was so exciting to see the balloon take shape from a flat envelope to a beautiful globe, and slowly float into the sky … so soft and gentle.
By 9:30 a.m. most of the balloons had landed and it was time for breakfast! Since we’d bought tickets for the festival thinking we had to pay admission to see the balloons, we went back to walk around, visit with the vendors and listen to some music.
They also had a “petting zoo” (more like an exhibit), with some very interesting residents. Here I am with Mabel the baby camel … love her big brown eyes and long lashes!
My favorite, however, has to be this albino baby wallaby. She’s only 3 months old and as cute as a button! She’d just been fed her bottle so she was very sleepy and oblivious to the commotion around her.
As much fun as we had yesterday, the REAL adventure took place this morning. It was a once-in-a-lifetime RPRT adventure … one that can only happen when “you’re in the right place at the right time”!
Part 2 to be continued tomorrow …
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