Balloons

Today, we went to the Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic.  (http://www.schabc.org/)  We left the house a little after 4:00 AM (YIKES!!) to get there.  The balloons have to launch early, when the air is still cool to ensure the air inside the balloon is hotter than the air outside the balloon.  When we got there, about 4:45 AM, we were surprised to find a traffic jam trying to get in.  In fact, they had to delay the start of some launches because the balloonists were stuck in traffic.     

The first event was called the “Dawn Patrol.”  Four balloons were lined up and launched in the dark – lighting up along the way. 

Here are some pictures of the Dawn Patrol.

 

 

 

 After sunrise, about 30 balloons went up.  It was quite impressive!

 

 

 It was quite interesting watching them get the balloons together. It was also amazing that they let the crowd just wander about and get very close to the balloons and crew.  Here is a sequence of them getting a balloon filled with air.

This is the balloon stretched out on a tarp, which helps keep the balloon from being damaged on the ground.

 

And, here it is looking down from the basket...

 

Being inflated...

 

Going up...

 

And, up in the air.

 



 

 

 They start out by filling the shell with cold air using a fan.  Here a couple of guys are holding the bottom open.

 

This shot is looking through the bottom of the balloon as it is being inflated.  You can see a man adjusting the opening at the top, which gives you an idea of the size of these things.  They said a fully inflated balloon stands about eight stories tall. 

 

 

In addition to the colorful plain balloons, there were also some characters skulking about.

 

I think this bird is angry because the REMAX balloon is crowding him.

Because the balloons are driven by the wind, it is often difficult to determine where they will land.  If conditions are right, some of the better pilots can actually return to the same field they launched from.  Here is a pilot who landed very close to his launch point.  He is hovering about a foot off the ground and his ground crew is moving him into position to deflate the balloon.  By the way, balloon pilots are in fact real pilots.  Those qualified to take passengers must also be licensed by the FAA as fixed wing pilots.

 

I was curious about how much it cost to operate a balloon so I looked it up at: http://hobbies.whatitcosts.com/buy-hot-air-balloon-pg2.htm.  After the factual area, the comments were quite amusing.  Below are two of my favorites, but you should read them all to get the full effect.

imad • hi i wanna make a hot air balloones pls help me  I live in algeria

Guest  • Making your own hot air balloon is so easy. Just take some sheets and sew them together into a ball. and tie ropes to it and attach to a large basket. Then, build a fire in the basket and hold the balloon over the fire to inflate. Make sure you do this all outside because the balloon will inflate quickly and you don't want that happening in your house. That's assuming you have houses in Algeria. You might just have huts which would probably be worse, I don't know. Also, and this is very important, ensure that you have several gallons of gasoline in the basket before you start. Gasoline is important because it serves two purposes in a balloon. The first is for ballast and the second is that if your fire is going out, you can put some gasoline on it to light it back up again. Good luck to you sir!

ANIL GAUTAM• Hey every body... I wanna start hot air ballooning in Himalayas..but not sure as i feel himalayan weather would be too turbulent for this kinda enterprise...any comments plz ?

Guest - Yes, you will die.

 

 

Escape from Fitch Mountain

Today we went up to Healdsburg to participate in the “Escape from Fitch Mountain” road race.  Karol ran the 10K and I walked the 3K, since I can no longer run due to arthritis in my knees.

Karol did very well and ran her best time in quite a while.  She came in first in her age group!

I was locked in an epic battle of wills with a woman who was just ahead of me.  I would pick up my pace to catch and pass her and, just as I was closing in, she would start to run for a block or two.  When she started walking again, I would set my sights on catching her.  Once again, as I closed in, she started to run.  It was nip and tuck, to and fro, cat and mouse for about 2 ½ kilometers until she finally ran full out for the finish and beat me.  As they gave out the awards after the race, I didn’t feel too bad since she won her age group.  Then I realized she was in the 80 and over group!!!!   

Nonetheless, I won a ribbon for third place in my age group – third out of three isn’t too bad for my first race as a walker!

Here’s Karol running for the finish line and getting her award.  She wanted to make sure that her cup of Starbucks was clearly visible but then turned it in her hand – what are you gonna do!

 

Here I am proudly accepting my award, as shown below.

 

Golden Gate Bridge

This past Sunday, we drove to San Francisco to visit Fort Point (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Point,_San_Francisco) and ride our bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was an eight mile trip - but it was uphill most of the way!  At least it seemed that way!  We had lunch in Sausalito and took the ferry back – all in all a pretty long day.  Here are some shots in the fort.

 

Of course I make friends everywhere I go. 

 

Here is his impression of a turkey.

 

We had some good views of the bridge from below, despite the fog.

 

And here it is from the other side.

 

Here is a view of the city and Alcatraz from Sausalito.

We also visited Armstrong Woods (Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve), one of my favorite places in Northern California (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=450 and http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=22257).

We visit there every time we are out this way.  The woods is host to an 805 acre grove of coast redwoods, which range from southern Oregon to central California, extending not more than fifty miles inland - only as far as the coastal climate has its influence.  The coast redwood is the tallest living thing on our planet!  They live to be 500-1,000 years old, grow to a diameter of 12-16 feet, and stand from 200-250 feet tall. Some trees survive to over 2,000 years and tower above 350 feet.

One of the reasons I love it there, beside the natural beauty, is the quiet.  It is so quiet; you can almost hear your heart beating.  The stillness can be deafening!

Here I am in front of one of the tallest trees.

 

 

Sonoma County - Oakmont

We have finally settled down for a while in Santa Rosa California, in the heart of Sonoma wine country.  This is the last leg of our planned trip and we expect to return to Virginia in August.   

We rented a house on the golf course in Oakmont, “a community for active adults.”  Because it is for people 55 and older – and most people here are MUCH older, the locals call it “Croakmont”.  Here is our house and patio, where we spend most evenings enjoying some local wine.

 

Here is the house from across the third tee… 

 
And here is our view.

 

Because we are active adults (the sign says so – so it must be true) we have been out and about.  Last week, we went to a performance by the local theater company at a nearby winery. 

 

Last Sunday, we went kayaking on the Russian River with our son Peter.  Most people don’t realize that this area was first settled by the Russians in the early 1800s.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_River_(California)

 

 

Bodega Bay

After being in the desert and mountains, we thought a few days on the Pacific coast would be relaxing.  We ended up just north of Bodega Bay in a house right on (above) the beach.   Unfortunately, it was foggy/cloudy/rainy almost the whole time we were there.  Here is the view from our deck/hot tub.

 

Here is the beach we walked along.

 

We had one good sunset in the four days we were there.