And eating fried Oreos. I ate fried Oreos, fried Snickers, and fried Twinkies. More on that decadence later.
Here's the deal with the hot air balloon; several months ago I stumbled across a most interesting adventure opportunity, a Bicycle Balloon race. Balloons take off with a bike strapped to the outside and a cyclist in the basket. The pilot flies a certain distance, lands the balloon, and the cyclist must race back to the starting area. The team with the shortest elapsed time wins $600.
This was all part of the New Jersey Balloon Festival at the Warren County Framers Fair. Although my team didn't win (winning times was 38 minutes, our time was 57 minutes) I had an awesome time. Being up in the balloon was like floating through the air. It was quiet and peaceful, except when the burner kicked in. Wow! That was hot and loud.
It was fascinating to see the whole process. The balloon and basket get pulled off the truck
The balloon gets rolled out
A fan fills the balloon with air to get it slightly inflated
Then the burners kick in to fill it with hot air
The balloon needs to be held open to allow all the air to get in. I got to help
Did I mentioned these things are pretty damn big?
Bike gets strapped on
Cyclist climbs in
And away we go!!
A birds eye view
We had to fly outside a 3 mile radius then find a place to land. As you can probably see from the pictures, my camera wasn't behaving too well and it was very hazy out so I didn't get too many good aerial shots.
Once we landed I hauled ass back to the fairgrounds. I didn't know the roads that well and ended up taking a longer route than I needed to and added a mile to the bike leg. Still, that would have only cut our time by4 minutes or so. Winners or not I had a fantastic time and would do it again. It would be nice if it wasn't an hour and a half away :)
The whole day was a ton of fun. Jane, the kids, and her parents came and we got to enjoy some family time at the fair, including eating the aforementioned fried treats. I've seen fried sweet things on the boardwalk at the shore and at other fairs but never took the plunge. I'm glad I did because they were sinfully delicious, especially the fried Snickers. Wow. I rationalized it as a post race recovery jolt of calories and protein (hey, Snickers have peanuts). I have no idea what other people used as an excuse. I know we have other pictures to post of those treats, but I'll treat you to some of our family fun.
3 comments:
That was such a fun event! I think, by the look on your face, you were on cloud nine as you entered the balloon basket. I'm so glad I was able to run to the field with my camera on time! Those fried treats were so amazing! Now, find me a deep fat fryer and a warehouse filled with Oreos and you'll be a very lucky man!
I've tasted fried candy, but never been in a hot air balloon. Funny, my daughter just said yesterday that she wants to ride in one, too. I LOVED the picture sequence and the fact that you intercut your pictures with Jane's. What a terrific outing and post. And MrB? Your kids are cuties.
~my husband and i are in awe at the moment...i asked jane how and where ever do you find such events...this is simply amazing...the whole process...i aore the picture you took from above...especially the hazy one...make you look so close to the heavenly skies...wonderful job....win or lose...i think it was all worthwhile! warm wishes and brightest blessings~
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