Category Archives: New York

Last Chance

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Friday was too windy, Saturday was a wash out with heavy rains. Only one more chance to get those hot air balloons in the air. I am starting to feel like Goldilocks…one was too hot, one was too cold…will Sunday be “just right?

Two launches are scheduled, a dawn launch at the Warren County Airport billed as “Walter’s Mass Ascension”, a simultaneous flight of 100+ balloons including “The World’s Largest Inflated Petting Zoo” and The closing ceremony at Crandall Park , Glens Falls with a launch of 20+ balloons.

Certainly I wanted the 100+ balloons. Sandy and I headed to bed Saturday with our fingers crossed.

It was early. It was dark. I listened closely. I didn’t hear the pitter pat of rain. I didn’t hear any sounds of wind blowing. A gentle tap on my door let me know that Sandy was up and it was time to rise and shine if we were going to make it to the airport.

Once again the parking pass  allowed us to slip right into the airport and into a parking slot. We joined the throngs of people making their way through the damp, dew covered grass to the airport entrance.

Vendors were open already and breakfast was being served near the hangar. There’s something about the pre-dawn hours that seems to magnify everything from sights to sounds to smells.

We made our way to the same area we’d visited on Friday. There were more balloons spread out now and we could walk among them. There are no restraints or barriers.

The air was cool , skies clear and wonder of wonders…no wind! It wasn’t long before we heard the whoosh of hot gasses and balloons that had been lying flat began to rise from the ground like sleeping giants.

The filling process takes quite a few minutes but then one brightly colored balloon was off and in the air, soon another followed and then they were taking off in bunches.

We saw baskets beneath the balloons and some with only a chair for the operator.

There was a monster/alien balloon and a “United Nations” balloon covered with flags from around the world.

Over near the vendors the “Petting Zoo” was taking shape..a butterfly

a crab…

a rabbit…

and that elusive  birthday cake I wanted to get a picture of but wait…it’s T Rex and it looks like he’s making short work of that cake.

As dawn broke on the eastern horizon the untethered balloons filled the air.

I can see the allure of this sport.

Your spirits soar right along with the balloons.

I wanted to clap my hands and cheer but I had the camera in my hands.

As we walked back to the car we wound through the tethered balloons, up close and personal. And then they began to deflate. The chasers were on the way to catch the untethered balloons and collect them when they land.

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Time for breakfast. We headed to the Golden Corral where we were joined by George and Kelly and the Kids. Patrick and Catherine seemed to be wide awake for such an early hour.

My only plans for the rest of the day? Take a nap! 🙂

Scenic Train to North Creek

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OK I have a confession to make before we get started. I don’t know how scenic this train ride was at all.  Four of us took the trip, my sister, my mother and my aunt…my mom’s sister-in-law. But let me start at the beginning.

Saturday dawned very gray and overcast. The forecast was for rain and we just hoped it would hold off until we got back home in the afternoon. Everyone met at my sister’s house so we could go to the train station together. Lorna, my Aunt, volunteered to drive because she had the biggest car, an SUV.

The train ride starts in Saratoga, NY and ends in North Creek, NY home of Gore Mountain Ski area. Sandy and I were hoping the foliage would be in high gear but we were about a week too early. As it turned out it didn’t matter anyway. I don’t think anyone spent too much time gazing out the windows. We could call our train ride the Reunion Train. Although we occasionally tried to figure out what river or body of water we were passing, most of the trip up and back was playing “catch up” , reminiscing and just plain having fun chatting. On the trip north the seats faced each other so it made conversation amongst the four of us easy.

When we arrived in North Creek there was a bus to take folks to Gore Mountain if you wanted to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain. That idea got vetoed pretty quickly so we had the option of taking a golf cart up the hill to main street or walking up the hill.

We may have been a band of Senior Citizens but we chose to walk.

North Creek seems to be pretty much the main street and that’s it. We strolled along looking in the windows and checking menus. We had arrived about lunch time. There were lots of tempting menus but we finally settled on Marsha’s. It turned out that it was a good choice. There was that Open Faced Hot Turkey sandwich again! This one was most definitely fresh roasted..delicious. If you get to North Creek you have 3 recommendations for Marsha’s Hot Turkey sandwich!

Lunch over we still had about an hour to kill so we crossed the street to visit a gallery that was located next to a Pizza place with the name of “Pete’s Ahh”. Very creative!

The Gallery was beautiful. So many lovely arts and crafts from photo postcards (very similar to what I do) to paintings, glassware, even clothing. All the items in the shop are on consignment and all of the artists are local. I asked because I thought maybe I could put some of my work in there but they shot that idea down quickly (but nicely). I don’t live in the Adirondacks anymore. They’d take my work if I ever move back.

Near the door on the ceiling were some metal things. I didn’t realize they were pipes. Someone asked what they were and the clerk said “rain”. She walked to the wall and threw a switch and sure enough, it began to “rain” . The pipes followed above a “creek” in the floor where goldfish swim. When the pipes are turned on the water drips slowly like a gentle rain. You walk over the bridges to get to different parts of the shop.

As we left the gallery the rain that had been threatening outside began to come down for real so we headed back to the train station. There was a covered deck with benches and chairs so we settled in to wait for the train.

I didn’t take too long before the train arrived and soon it was all aboard for the return trip to Saratoga. This time the seats were more traditional in rows. We could have sat in a row of 3 with one  across the aisle but we chose instead to sit 2 and 2. Sandy and Lorna in the front 2 seats and Mom and me in the 2nd set of seats.

The rain was coming down pretty good now and it was getting very dark for so early in the afternoon. We got back to Saratoga around 6pm and hurried back to Sandy’s so that everyone could scatter to their own homes before the weather got any worse.

Just as Sandy and I were about to address the question of dinner a knock announced the arrival of George and Kelly and the kids. They arrived bearing Pizza..yumm so the question of dinner was solved and I got to enjoy a visit with some more of the family. The 40 balloon “Moon Glow” at the airport was rained out but I had completely forgotten about it anyway.

What a great day with all of the family!

Moonglow and Fireworks

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Traffic is crawling, stop and go,stop and go.  Ahead we can see 3 enormous balloons bobbing and weaving. Sometimes they wink out. Sometimes they look like they are about to fall over before we hear the whoosh and see them stand tall again. It seems like we aren’t making much progress. Street parking is out of the question. When we spot a place without a car it’s because there’s a pile of dirt or a boulder blocking the spot.

Pedestrians crossed  freely in front of the crawling line of traffic. Inside I was holding my breath waiting for my sister to tell me this was ridiculous.

We’d been at the airport until about 6pm but the wind never died down enough for the hot air balloons to take off. When we left they were just spread out like lovely colored bed spreads.

Our mistake was not coming straight up to Lake George. We detoured over to George and Kelly’s house. We were just going to make a quick stop. As usually happens when you connect with relatives, especially some you don’t see often, you get to visiting and our quick stop turned into 30-40 minutes…just like that! Not that I’m complaining. I enjoyed the visit too.

A half hour drive to Lake George and it was already 7:30. Moonglow was at 8pm according to the published schedule. But if 8pm was the start time, what were we slowly approaching?

Finally we passed the park and the balloons and found a rough parking lot. $6.00 to park . Grabbing camera, tripod and folding chairs we headed back in the direction we’d just come along with a steady stream of others anxious to see the brightly lit balloons.

To my surprise we easily  got in the front row with plenty of room even with the crowd! I set up as fast as I could in the dark. It was hard to judge where the balloons were in the frame when the lights went out but I did the best I could. A little girl with a glow stick was running around near us. I was pretty sure she was in the frame on some of the pictures but it was hard to tell. I wasn’t going to tell her to stop. She was having way too much fun!

Blue Light Trails from Glow Stick

The balloons were tethered so other than the lights there wasn’t much to see. At about 8pm one of the balloons suddenly began deflating. Then the others began to follow.  The show was over! We can only assume there was a misprint on the schedule because it definitely said it was to start at 8..not end. Oh well, at least we got to see a bit of the “Moon glow”.

We headed back to the car to try to beat the rush. I wanted a couple of “night shots” of the lights from the shore reflecting in the lake before we left. When we were almost back to the parking lot I set the tripod back up and began to focus when BANG! the fireworks started.

We stood there on the sidewalk and watched the display of lights fly up into the sky over the lake.

It was a great way to finish up the night. We hustled off to the car before the finale because we just knew the traffic would be bad if we waited. Even with the head start it was still bumper to bumper and “dodge ’em” with the pedestrians. Still I’m really glad we made the effort to go. It was  beautiful.

Saturday night they want to have a 40 balloon “Moonglow” at the Warren County Airport. I bet that will really be something to see.

Beautiful Lake George, NY

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Early fall in the Adirondacks is always lovely. Nights are cool and crisp but days are comfortable and often breezy. As fall progresses you get treated to magnificent colors from the yellows and brown of the birches to the deep reds of the sugar maples. Fall in the mountains is a feast for the eyes.

It was still a little early for the bright colors but here and there a touch of color spoke of the promise of things to come.

I started the morning sitting on my sister’s porch watching the yellow finches and little brown sparrows fight for the seed in the feeders. Sandy was doing her morning walk. I was hoping to get a glimpse of her cardinal but he was nowhere to be found this morning.

When Sandy returned I suggested a drive up to Prospect Mountain and then a quick run over to find the Battlefield Park in Lake George where the “Moon glow” exhibition was scheduled for 8 pm. WE’d have to hustle to make it  after the 5 pm launch at the Warren County Airport. I wasn’t expecting to be chauffeured around. I’m used to being on my own but Sandy offered and I was glad for the company and a treat not to be doing the driving.

It doesn’t take that long to reach Prospect Mountain. There is a fee to go up the mountain but it includes parking at the top and the shuttle to the summit.

There are 3 Lookouts or scenic views. We stopped at all of them.

At the top we parked and took the shuttle the rest of the way.

At one time there was  a cable car that brought visitors to the summit where a hotel offering great  views, dining and dancing was the draw. The Prospect Mountain House eventually burned down but parts of the foundation can still be seen.

The views of Lake George are fantastic and on a clear day you can see for 100 miles to the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We had a bit of haze but it was still breathtaking.

A little after noon we headed back down the mountain to find Battlefield Park. There was a lot of roadwork going on with lanes blocked and heavy equipment scattered all over.  Even with that distraction we located the park but it was clear that  parking would be at a premium especially with all the torn up shoulders and boulders from the work in the way.

That out of the way we headed back toward the airport to see the vendors and find a place to watch the balloons launch at 5pm. A brief stop at Friendly’s for lunch and we were on our way.

My Mom had been sending me clippings about the Balloon Festival and in one of them I’d seen a mention of a parking pass for $15.00 for the weekend. Sandy had gone on a quest for information and in the process  bought one for us. What a difference that made! We had separate access to the parking areas so there were no lines, no waiting. It was definitely worth the investment. As we wandered through the vendor tents we could see the traffic from the non parking pass folks just crawling its way toward the airport.

It was really windy at the airport. We saw  quite a few “Chase groups” huddled around. It was questionable if they would be able to launch in the wind.  The day was warm and sunny, the only draw back was the wind and it was gusty.

We explored the tents and booths of the vendors and then headed to the field where we made ourselves at home on the ground..note for next time: bring folding lawn chairs!

As 5pm came and went we watched the balloons rolled out and propane set up but no effort was made to actually fill any balloons.

Little test balloons were sent up periodically and they took off like a rocket. Kites were flying and everyone seemed to be having a good time except the balloonists. Finally around 6pm we headed back to the car. Time to head back to Lake George for the “Moonglow”.

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Maybe we’ll have better luck there because those balloons are tethered.

On the Road to New York

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It was time to hit the road to upstate New York. I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a year, ever since my niece-in-law posted a picture on Facebook. This event is the 40th Anniversary Adirondack Balloon Festival. 40 years tells me it will be a BIG DEAl.

I’ve never been to a hot air balloon festival. I’ve seen hot air balloons, even rode in a tethered one in Atlanta, Ga. and I saw hot air balloons on one of my trips to Sedona, AZ. as they drifted over the high desert.

Drfting over the high desert. AZ 2008

Now I was heading to my old stomping grounds in Upstate New York for the biggest Hot Air Balloon Festival on the East Coast. To give you a timeline it’s Thursday, September 20 and the opening ceremonies are tonight at 5pm at Crandall Park in Glens Falls, NY.

I got a late start. It seemed like every time I turned around I spotted something that needed doing before I could leave so instead of a 10 am start I didn’t get on the road until almost 12:00.

I was making pretty good time until I got to the halfway point, Springfield Ma. The Big E is in town. The Big E stands for Eastern States Exposition and is the biggest fair in Massachusetts. To add to the traffic going to the Big E there was road work. Only one lane of traffic was moving. It was close to 45 minutes just getting through that section. ETA for Albany was now 4:30…rush hour. Making the opening ceremony was not looking good.

I put the time issue on the back burner and just settled in for the drive. It was pretty uneventful. Even the traffic in Albany was light for a rush hour. I did miss the opening ceremony at Crandall Park. I arrived at my sister’s house in Gansevoort, NY at about 5:30. Once the car was unloaded we dealt with the question of dinner.

The Peppermill Restaurant in South Glens Falls was the winner and we headed over there for open-faced Roast Turkey sandwiches…yummm .

Open Faced Turkey and Gravy Sandwich

Back at the house we reviewed the Balloon festival schedule. Usually there are early morning launches and then again in the afternoon. To our surprise there was no morning launch on Friday. That means we don’t have to get up early and will have the morning and afternoon to do whatever we come up with! Nice.