Day 5 - Hot Air Balloon Ride & Santa Fe

Day 5 -- Hot Air Ballon Ride

Laying out the silk ground cloth

The hot air balloon ride was the highlight of our visit to Albuquerque.  We had to get up super early (4:30) to get down to Albuquerque by 6 am.  The kids helped the crew unpack the balloon, lay it out on a silk sheet (so it wouldn't get dirty), and hold it while it was being filled with hot air.  Then we all climbed in the basket and took off!  We spend an hour and 20 minutes in the air floating gently over town and over the Rio Grande River.  Then we put down in a city park on the grass (our pilot likes landing in grass whenever possible so he can keep the balloon as clean as possible.

Another company had already taken off by the time we started

Hooking the balloon to the basket

Daniel and Jaeyong holding on while the balloon fills

Filling the balloon with air

Taking off

View of Albuquerque

After our trip we had champagne and orange juice, ate some muffins and fruit (fresh cherries off our pilot's tree), and then headed to Santa Fe for the afternoon.  In Santa Fe we say the oldest house, several old churches, and at lunch at a French restaurant.  Then we came home and relaxed for the rest of the evening (took a short nap, swam, and played beach volleyball on some terrible sand on a tiny court).  Then we ordered Pizza Hut and went to bed (well I did anyway -- I heard the next morning that the kids played cards for another hour after I went to sleep).