At 4:45 we were up and getting ready for a big morning, which turned out to be a big day. At 5:45 we left the house packing a couple cameras and a video camera, and walked to Tauphaus Park, which is about 6 or so blocks away. This little outing is something that I'm fairly used to, but Anthony was not enjoying the fact that we were up so early on his day off. At the edge of the park, there was a marathon getting ready to start, and further into the park was our destination. I was a genius and had decided to wear a new pair of sandals, even though I knew what we would be getting into. Once we hit the dew-riddled grass, I rolled up my pants and off came the sandals. Five steps in my feet were no longer attached to my body and I was seriously rethinking my decision. I got alot of grief for going barefoot through the park at 6 a.m., that's for sure. On the plus side, I figured out that if I stood still long enough, my feet quit hurting and warmed up enough for me to stop thinking about them. Surprisingly, there was a group of people already crowing around the van and trailer that I was headed for. You see, every year my dad's office launches a hot air balloon from Tauphaus the morning of the fourth. Last year they had problems finding people who wanted to take a ride. This year they had so many people they launched the balloon 3 times, giving 3 or four rides each launch. This morning, Anthony and I were to experience the extraordinary treat of a ride in the balloon. It took about 30 minutes or so to get the balloon completely inflated, and for the first riders to get in the basket and take off. For anyone who's never seen a balloon launch, it is one of the coolest things! You would never think that such a giant balloon would fit into a tiny bag, let alone carry you!
For the first launch, we were part of the balloon chasers. There wasn't much of a breeze that morning, so it took a little while for the balloon to go anywhere. Darren, the driver, finally set the balloon down in a cul-de-sac of houses.
One of the home owners came ambling out of her house to watch the commotion, but rather than looking amused or awe-struck, she just looked pissed. Which none of us could figure out. From this point, Anthony and I ran to get in the basket, threw ourselves in, and off we went! The feeling that washes over you up in the air is incredibly peaceful. All the noises of the city disappear (with the exception of a few barking dogs who thought we were the end of the world) and you experience a view of the world that is completely unique. When you're on a plane, yes you get to overlook the city (for the most part), but there's all that background noise of the plane and people coughing, babies crying...in the balloon, there was an undisturbed 360 degree view and it was so quiet we didn't want to speak. Because there still wasn't much of a breeze, Anthony and I got the longest ride. We were floating south of the city, which is all farm land, and just happened to be an area the chasers couldn't get to us, so we had to stay up in the air. After about 10 minutes or so, we caught a slight southernly wind, and the first place we could see to land was behind the Corona plant (yes, Corona as in beer). We watched from 100 feet up as the chasers pulled into the drive and were abruptley stopped. Our radio crackled and we heard, "Hey Darren, there's a security guard here." Silence. "Yeah. He says we can't go back there." Darren replied, "Tell him you have to get the balloon." Silence. "He says nobody goes back there. I don't see a gun though, so I think we could over power him."
We decided not to get the guard fired, and we wound up landing in somebody's front yard and switching riders/chasers. It was about 9 a.m. by the time we got home, and seeing as we'd had such an eventful morning, we treated ourselves to breakfast at Smitty's (a local diner known for it's coffee and breakfasts), followed by a stroll through the farmers market where we stumbled upon some mouthwatering raspberries and strawberries. Naturally, they came home with us.
On the way home, our friends called to see if we'd like to check out the parade with them. We figured, we live just down the street, why not? So once home it was off to the parade. We haven't been in a few years, but not much has changed since our childhood. We were most amused by the...ahem..."dueling" club, decked out in their finest Renaissance gear and toting plastic swords around. One guy even had a bow and arrow, which he continually shot the dueling fiends with.
By the time the parade ended, Anthony and I were a bit worn out, but Anthony's brother Brady had just come back from a month in California, and they wanted to spend some time together. So Brady, Brady's girlfriend, Ross and Kevin appeared at our house not long after we'd come home and we meandered over to the neighborhood park to play a bit of ultimate frisbee. Unfortunately for us, the 4th was the first truly warm day of the year, and it wasn't long before we were all dripping sweat and desperate for a cool down.
Off to the sand dunes we went, piled on scooters, in order to play in the canal that runs along one of the borders. Anthony had set up a tree swing a few days earlier, and was dead set on getting his brother to jump out of the tree and into the canal. The thing about the sand dunes...there are horse flies. Everywhere. Some years are worse than others, but Brady and I started getting eaten alive the instant we got to the dunes. Needless to say, the two hours spent at the canal were less than thrilling for me. The last of my bites is just now disappearing. Sad, huh?
I was I could say that Anthony and I just kept on trucking and made it down to the falls to watch Idaho Falls' spectacular fireworks show. Alas, the day in the sun had taken it's toll. I rented my scooter out to Jared for the evening, and was in bed at 9:15. Anthony wasn't far behind.
Despite conking out early, it was the most enjoyable 4th we've had in many years. We did something we've never done, spent the entire day with friends and family, and had actual activities to participate in.
For anyone who's interested, here's the video from the balloon ride/launch that morning.
