Friday October 9, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Another early morning and it was COLD!! I heard from another LD’r that it was 39* this morning. Brrrrr. I went out and walked the dogs in my pj’s, then stood around with the Lazy Dazers that were left, watching the balloons.
Smudge in her sweater.... and no, that's not 5 balloons in the photo, below!!
This balloon reminds me of a cross between a zebra and Halloween!!



This morning the balloonists had a “key drop” contest to win a new car. Only a couple of the balloons took off from the launch field, the majority took off from the two landing fields that are situated in the RV parking, which is an old dump site. So, we had LOTS of standard shape balloons flying over us from the south to north, all trying to drop their marker on the target to win the car!!Yep, this balloon was really PRETTY CLOSE!!

Smudge sun-bathing!
I did take a break to dress and feed us, but we had more folks leaving this morning so more sad goodbyes. Mike and Lisa showed up promptly at 9am to service Blue. Turns out the problem with the heater was a mis-routed thermostat wire. Woo-hoo, cheap fix, and I won’t freeze in the morning!!
While out walking the dogs while Mike was working, I saw a family playing airplane with their kids. They looked like they were having so much fun, I took pictures/ video. The kids saw the dogs and came running over to visit. I did manage to slow them down so the dogs wouldn’t be upset, so we all had a nice visit. I was also able to get an e-mail address to send the photos/video to them to enjoy.

All of the other routine maintenance went well, and Mike recommended a “Pro-fill” system for the house batteries, as they are using quite a bit of water. My fix of the year was to install three “Aero-flo” vent covers on the hatches, plus a new vent hatch cover over the shower. Now I can leave the vents open while driving or during the rain and still have air circulation. The new cover over the shower is like having a skylight, it is so bright. After Mike and Lisa finished, I had Blue professionally washed and waxed!! Boy, do I have a pretty rig!!!We all gathered outside Blue to have snacks and a “wine & pre-mix margarita” tasting. Lots of yummy stuff, 4 different wines, freshly baked beer bread, chips, salsa, dips, golf ball size cheese puffs. YUM YUM YUM.
Most of the folks went down to the Balloon Field for the Friday night Glowdeo and to help crew balloons. Since I went last night, I decided to relax in Blue and watch the fireworks from here. While I was washing the dishes, all my power went out!! I grabbed a flashlight, all the fuses and circuit breakers were fine. While I was waiting for Mike to answer his phone (I wanted to check with him before I started the generator) I looked in the battery bank and the shut off switch had popped to off. Problem solved!!! (Although I do feel a little silly, cause I discovered the switch in off while I was leaving a message. I’m sure Mike and Lisa will get a laugh).

Time to watch fireworks and have a nice, warm sleep!!!!