Happy Thanksgiving

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends. This has been a bit of a difficult year, but we are so thankful for all of our blessings. 

In addition to the passing of my mom this summer, a good friend of ours here in Yuma passed away very unexpectedly a few weeks ago. 

Rick was a wonderful person who was always smiling and a true gentleman. He played golf with the men's club on Tuesday morning, went home, sat down with a glass of water and passed away at the young age of 72. A neighbor found him a short time later. It was a great shock to many here at the resort. Rick was an avid golfer and card player, and was loved by many. Here are a few photos of us with Rick.

I was so heartbroken to hear about the senseless tragedy at the Waukesha, Wisconsin Christmas parade last weekend. I worked in that school district for seven years before I retired. I pray for all those impacted that they may heal both physically and psychologically. 

Times like this remind us of lucky we are to have good health and to be living our best life. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

A few weeks ago our resort hosted a complimentary welcome back party with a delicious dinner, drinks, a photo booth and an ice cream truck. We had a great time. It was held outdoors in the parking lot of the North Hall on a beautiful and warm evening. The band was set up on a trailer.

The girls had some fun at the photo booth.

On November 18th, the resort hosted a Howling at the Moon party in the parking lot next to the baseball field with a band and bonfire. We were so fortunate to see a beautiful sunset to the west and the full moon rising over the foothills to the east. 

Last Saturday we had a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the resort. They provided the turkey and gravy, and each table of ten brought the rest of the meal. We enjoyed a great meal with some of our friends. 

Today Kevin is golfing with the guys in the morning. Then, we are staying home and enjoying a peaceful day on our own. Not to complain, but we stay quite busy around here. Sometimes a day at home is just what is needed. Plus, it's quite windy and only going to be in the low 70s. Brrr!!

Don't Wish Upon a Star-Reach for One!!

A New "Job" For Us

 It's amazing how fast time flies. We've been back in Yuma for a month already, and we've been very busy. But, not too busy to hang out with our friends and play lots of golf! Our friends Syd and Carolyn invited us over for dinner along with Cynthia. As usual, we had a great time with lots of laughs and delicious food. They are amazing cooks!!

I've also been quite busy taking care of the details of my mom's estate. We accepted an offer on her condo this week; so hopefully, that all goes well. I'm so grateful for the technology to be able to take care of all of this from a distance.

A few weeks after we got back, we were asked by the management here at the resort if we would be interested in taking over the administration of the golf leagues with another couple. Jim and Sally did it for about 30 years, and they are retiring. We said yes, and it turns out the other couple were Syd and Carolyn. Perfect!! 

Once we learn the program, it won't be that time consuming. But, for now; we're spending quite a bit of time learning. Then we'll split the duties between the four of us, and it will be no problem.

The resort sponsored a Halloween Party with dancing and free drinks. We had a great time. There was a photo booth, so we got silly with Syd and Carolyn. The photographer was using a halo light, and it reflected exactly in my glasses, making it look like I have monster eyes. Too funny!!

Something weird happened to this tree on the golf course over the summer. It reminds me of trees in Dr. Seuss books. The whole top is hanging down, but it's still alive. Strange!!

So, that's about all that's new with us. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life as much as we are!!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Day 5

Wednesday morning brought rain showers and lots of clouds. The local news said the dawn patrol was cancelled and the mass ascension was on hold. Around 7:30 am the first balloon displaying the American flag went up. The rain had stopped and the sun was glowing under the clouds.

Kind of a cool perspective with the clouds. 

It seemed that due to the clouds, many of the balloons were having trouble getting high enough.

Several landed amongst the RVs. The University of Kansas Jayhawks balloon came in close for a great photo op. Oops, a little too close as it landed at the end of the row behind us. Across the street are powerlines. That's a bit too close for comfort.

I had not seen this guy before. He did not have a gondola basket. He was sitting in a sling type chair with the propane tank under the seat. That doesn't look very safe. He came in right behind us and landed next to the motorhome on the side of us. 

Another landing next to the RVs.

Today at the opening ceremonies they recognized the International balloons and pilots. I think this balloon is flying the flags of the countries represented. 

I did some research into the whole hot air balloon hobby. A pilot needs a special license to fly them. Used balloons cost between $7,000 and $15,000. A new custom balloon can be over $40,000. They use propane which adds to the cost. Not an inexpensive hobby for sure.

After seeing all of these balloons, I'm so impressed with the skill of these pilots. The weather and wind conditions are constantly changing. They managed to fly safe every day with only a few mishaps and no injuries. Kudos to them all!!!

After watching the balloons this morning, we hooked up and left the grounds. Lots of RVs were leaving today. I think a new crop is coming in for the second half of the fiesta.

 Tomorrow we should be home in Yuma!!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Day 4

 Tuesday was day 4 of the fiesta. Once again I watched the dawn patrol balloons take off and then the mass ascension from outside of our fifth wheel. 

It's hard to capture the scope of all the balloons flying over. Here's a panoramic shot of our row in the south RV parking area. People are coming and going every day, so there were some empty spots next to us. Click on it to enlarge. All those little dots are balloons.

This is the New Mexico tourism association balloon.

The morning news had a great human interest story about the people flying in Smokey the Bear. Eight years ago they were supposed to be married in this balloon. Due to poor weather conditions, the balloon didn't fly that day, so they got married in the back of the vintage fire truck that travels with Smokey. Today they are celebrating their 8th anniversary with a ride in the balloon. So many stories at balloon fiesta.

I did not realize how fortunate it was to see so many of the special shape balloons on the first morning. Most of them have not flown since then. However, Yoda and Darth Vader have been up most days. Sometimes, its not so easy to get a front picture as the balloons turn and aren't always facing you as they fly over. Today I got a great shot of Yoda.

Darth Vader landed in the field behind the RVs. He looks quite skeletal as he is beginning to deflate. Yikes!!

Another new one I hadn't seen before.

Each morning, depending on wind conditions, the balloons take a different path. Most days they went straight south or a bit west. Yesterday some of them headed east which put them over the mountains. The sun was also just coming up so the mountains looked somewhat washed out. Still a cool thing to see.

More balloons with our fifth wheel and truck in the picture.

After watching the balloons, we went to the Balloon Museum. They had a very interesting display about the race to reach the north pole. Multiple attempts by land and sea had failed, so in 1897 a group of explorers attempted to go by hot air balloon. They actually made it, but had to land the balloon and ended up perishing as they tried to hike out.

This is a replica of the first hot air balloon to cross the English Channel and the first International flight on January 7, 1785. 

The Breitling Orbiter 3 piloted by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones launched from the Swiss Alpine village of Château-d'Oex on March 1, 1999 was the first balloon to fly non-stop around the world. They landed in the Egyptian desert after being aloft 19 days, 21 hours, and 55 minutes on March 21, 1999, having traveled a distance of 25,361  mi. During the course of the flight, the balloon had climbed to altitudes of up to 38,507 ft, and achieved speeds up to 123 knots.

This was an interesting statistic. The average hot air balloon is 70-90,000 cubit feet in volume, which means 22 or more elephants would fit inside. Wow!!

Only one more day of balloons for us. We leave on Wednesday. The fiesta continues until Sunday. Thursday and Friday they do the evening glow with the special shape balloons. If I'd have known that, we would have booked extra days. 

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Day 3

You'd think by yesterday, day 3, there wouldn't be much more to share, but not true. Every day has been new and exciting!!

I watched the dawn patrol balloons take off from the comfort of our fifth wheel. The launch field is about a mile away, but you can see them take off real well from our campsite.

It was another perfect day for flying. Several of the balloons have the New Mexico symbol on them.

Once the sun rises over the mountain peaks, the balloons really glow, especially the brightly colored ones.

Although, this was the third day of watching, I still saw some new balloons.

Perfect entry for a pest control company!

There are six countries represented this year. Prior to Covid as many as twenty countries participated. This is the balloon from Mexico. I heard there are also balloons from Denmark, Germany, Spain and Great Britain.

I saw this balloon on Saturday and thought it was a dog. It's actually a very cute seal.

It's really hard to convey the scope of how many balloons are in the air at one time with pictures. Here is just an example of what it looks like. I shared a video on Facebook earlier that gives an idea of what it looks like as they come over. The big building in the background with the blue line around the top is a General Mills cereal factory. We've been told that if the wind is right, it can be an overwhelmingly sweet smell.

Quite a few balloons have landed in a field behind RVs just a few rows away from us. Yesterday morning I walked over to watch them. I must say, I didn't realize how hard they come down. There are chasers in the field to help pull on the ropes, but most of them still came down quite hard and dragged along the ground. Several had their baskets tip over upon landing as you can see in the second picture below. One guy actually shot out of the basket as it tipped over. I hope he was okay. One of the chasers told me that one basket hit barbed wire, and a lady got scraped up. 

On the Monday evening news, they reported that three balloons had hit power lines. Luckily, no injuries were reported. I'm glad I decided not to go up in one. My risk tolerance is not what it used to be :)

We continue to have a great time. Only one day to go before we leave. 

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!