Harmony Motter Photography Richard Sayer Photography |
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A few days ago I got an email from my mom. A picture I posted really moved her....errrr not in a good way. She didn't like the picture. I admit I laughed, because its my mom and I guess for as long as one lives--you want to please your mother. Well the picture I posted and wrote about was not her favorite by any means and what is weird about it--I think I even thought that she wouldn't like it when I posted it. Its ok--as she said in her email...I can't please everyone with every picture I guess. Now what I didn't tell her was on Thursday I was supposed to get a hot-air balloon ride. Well that didn't happen because of the weather. So I was glad I didn't tell her because I think she would've been more disappointed than me. Tonight as I was walking onto the grounds where the Thurston Classic was to launch I heard---'Rich...hey we have an empty sponsors balloon--do you want to go?' The voice was from one of the event organizers Joyce Stevens. I said, I'll have to make sure its ok with the office and can I get a ride back to my car? So after a phone call and the ok---it was set, I would get a chance to do what my grandfather did, go up in a hot-air balloon. (by the way this is how I'm telling mom about it! - i hope after the picture a few days ago she is still checking the site!) I will admit that it was a neat experience, I wish I was one who savored such things -- I was working and to me trying to grab photos was what I was there to do...so I probably didn't get as much out of it as others would, but it was still pretty cool. My favorite part was when the pilot said to me that the winds had shifted and it was unlikely that we'd get to try to drop a beanbag and hit a target in a hare and hound competition(a lead balloon takes off and lands and puts out a target on the ground--the other balloons follow and try to drop a beanbag onto the target--the closest to center i think wins.) Anyway our balloon caught significantly different winds and there was no way to correct it - so I asked what now. The pilot said...'now we just fly.' I liked that!I think the highest we got was about 6 or 700 feet and he said he would try to tickle my feet as we passed within a few feet of the tops of a grove of oak trees. We flew for about an hour and landed pretty smoothly -- although we got some great help from a few teenagers waiting for us who helped push the balloon away from a lone tree in the yard we dropped in on. I'll be putting more pictures from the experience in a slideshow that I'll hopefully be able to post tomorrow night on the Meadville Tribune website. Meadville Tribune photographs by Richard Sayer. For mom!
7 Comments
Nancy aka MOM
6/17/2011 03:00:15 pm
Rita
6/17/2011 03:02:51 pm
Awesome views! Don't worry about the right angle when you get an experience like this! So glad you got to go up!! "It's in the moment!"
Nancy aka MOM
6/17/2011 03:03:58 pm
OOPS! Hit the wrong key! Dick, I so envy you the wonderful experience of this balloon ride. Your grandfather LOVED his 75th birthday present from all his family and I have pictures to prove he did take that ride!! Your pictures are beautiful! I will look forward to the slide show!! Love you! Yup, this is my kind of picture!!!!!
Rob K
6/17/2011 11:12:59 pm
Love the light through the launching balloons. Nice shot.
Duane
6/18/2011 07:54:06 am
Hey Dick; That's really cool that you got to go for a ride in the balloon. It's something that you'll remember for the rest of your life. Oh, and the photo is pretty nice. I like your mom's comments at Jun 2011 22:03:58.
Melody (Mimi)
6/18/2011 11:13:13 am
I went up last year and it is amazing!! Somehow, though, my camera didn't take the same quality of pics that your's did!! Absolutely beautiful! Leave a Reply. |