Anniversary Flight

No, not our wedding anniversary, our anniversary of buying the balloon! It was also close to the birthday of the husband (Alex) of one of Jill's co-workers (Sandy). Alex and Sandy have become friends, and we promised to give Alex a balloon flight to celebrate his birthday. Today was the first chance for a flight this month.

The wind direction was a bit iffy, so I decided to drive north to Vilonia, Arkansas where the landing sites are plentiful. We got to our launch site, a school east of Vilonia, and set up slowly while we waited for the winds to calm. It was still gusting a little bit, but it was definitely calming, and it was time to inflate. Before long, Alex and I were launching into a bit of a quick wind. It didn't take too long before the winds slowed a little, and I knew we'd have a great landing.

Soon after launch, I identified the area north of town that was a good target for landing. The winds gave us a little ability to steer. Uncharictaristically, there was a right turn low. I worked the winds, alternating high and low, and drove toward a neighborhood surrounded by good landing sites. The front right part of that neighborhood presented a great spot for a fence-less landing, but when I tried to steer toward that field, by right turn had dissipated. No problem, there were plenty of places beyond the neighborhood that would be good for landing.


As we flew over the homes, a tremendous number of people poured from many of the homes. Several families were hosting parties to watch the Razorbacks' game. Despite the game starting on television, several people stayed to help us pack the balloon up. A couple even joined us the traditional toast!

Once the balloon was packed up, we drove back to Sherwood, and enjoyed a pizza at Shotgun Dan's with Alex and Sandy. It was a terrific Saturday night!

Sandy and Alex took some great pictures, and I'll add some here, and to the Flickr page (see the Flickr badge on the right).