They Call It Moonglow

Posted on September 26, 2014September 26, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Moonglow. Not a super moon.

At the 40th Anniversary Balloon Festival it was 3 tethered balloons glowing in the dark. The photo that resulted is one of my favorites . The Boston Globe newspaper liked it too as it was featured “above the fold” in one of the Sunday editions.

The “Moonglow” was my main reason for attending the Festival this year. As much as I like the photo from 2012, I felt that I could do better. I wanted another try. This year they planned on more than 3 balloons. Moonglow was going to be at the airport. It was scheduled for 8 pm Saturday night.

There was also a 5 pm launch but as we arrived at the airport we learned that the 5 pm launch had been grounded due to high wind gusts. Disappointing but not a disaster. After all we had loads of pictures from Friday evening’s launch.

We set up our lawn chairs and settled in to wait. The breeze was pretty stiff and it began to get chilly but we hung in there. We were hoping that if the balloons were tethered maybe they’d still be able to pull off the Moonglow.

Alas, it was not to be. About 7:30 the chase teams began to pack up. They moved the baskets to the tarmac and lined them up. To a rousing sound track they sent propane flames skyward but no balloons.

The Festival was over for us.

There was a final launch scheduled for dawn on Sunday but we had no plans to attend that one.

So I will leave you with a few more photos from Friday night

And the promise that I will try again another year to capture that perfect “moonglow” picture.

“Would you like to fly in my beautiful balloon????”

They came in Waves

Posted on September 24, 2014September 24, 2014 by Dusty Roads

2 years ago we thought the show was pretty good but this year the launch far out-shown anything from 2012.

I don’t know how many balloons made it up but they launched in waves. You watched them drift overhead and turned to follow them out of sight only to turn around to more balloons lifting into the air. We heard the goal was to get 80 balloons in the air. I think they made it.

Music filled the air providing a sound track to the spectacle. Each balloon was unique. Bright colored traditional balloons rose side by side with whimsical animals and even a sci-fi Icon.

Yes , there was even an 85 ft, 600 lb black balloon that struck fear in the hearts of the rebel alliance. Darth Vader himself rose from the ground to the strains of the Star Wars Overture. Darth was definitely the celebrity of the day. Sadly he remained tethered and we never got to see him soar.

Once of my favorite images was when a brightly colored balloon seemed to rise over Darth Vader ‘s helmet like a tiny moon. Several looked like they might not clear his 85 ft. height.

Right next to us was large black and white balloon that turned out to be a giant Panda!

As the balloon inflated children romped in its shadow. What a thrill to be so close to the behemoth as it inflated!

I was too close and then I wanted to zoom in on a more distant balloon. I was juggling lenses every few shots! Now I know why the photography team all hand at least 2 cameras around their necks. Maybe next time I’ll have that extra camera too.

Less than 3000 miles

Posted on August 9, 2014August 9, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Well That explains a lot.

I haven’t had an oil change since March so I stopped by my car care center today and had them check the records. I just hit 3000 miles! Proof that I haven’t been anywhere or done anything worth writing about this summer. That’s depressing!

I’m still having pain in my abdomen/side even though the rash is gone on my side anyway. It’s stubbornly hanging on in the middle of my back where it started.

I work for Redfin Real Estate and we are opening up in Rhode Island. Thursday night Redfin held a Launch party in Providence. The Rhode Island Team is Agent: Jeremy, Buy side coordinator : Tara and Listing coordinator: Me! Tara and I felt it was important to attend to offer support to our leader, Jeremy. Both Tara and I also have Massachusetts agents we support but that’s not a new market.

It was a nice party but I noticed that I really couldn’t stand for that long before my back started misbehaving. It’s improving but there’s still a long way to go.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever get back to 100%.

Phantom Gourmet’s Barbecue Beach Party

Posted on June 24, 2014June 24, 2014 by Dusty Roads

As I came down the steps and made a left on Congress St I spotted the first check point. It was a place to check your bags. Boston has become very paranoid since the Marathon Bombing, not than anyone can blame them, but I hadn’t thought of that when I packed the camera bag for my trek into the city.

Now as I stood in front of the kiosk collecting bags I was stumped. No way was I leaving my camera bag with the spare lens, batteries and filters. I decided to try to talk my way in.

The first spot told me no but they pointed to another person in a red shirt. (Star Trek fans all know what it means to wear a red shirt).

He also said no but I argued that it was just a camera and he could look at it. I had nothing to hide. He sent me to his supervisor. Now I began to get somewhere. He said there was an exception for cameras.

I purchased my ticket and went back to the gate where I was once again turned away. By now my journey from Taunton with the Red line issues and all the walking was taking it’s toll. I could feel my irritation starting to grow. I reminded myself that you get more flies with honey, took a deep breath and tried again. This time I pointed out the person who had told me I could take the camera bag in. He must have been important because the attitude changed immediately.

I still had a security line to go through. As soon as I stepped up I was treated with much more respect. In fact the security guy checking my bags said he saw me when I first approached and was surprised when I was turned away. He saw the monopod and knew I had a camera. He apologized and said some people just let power go to their heads! He told me to go on in and enjoy myself!

More stairs loomed ahead. I saw kiosks for Ice Cream , fried dough, soft drinks and popcorn but where was the barbecue?

Just then my way was blocked by a vision from the past. Some kind of Raptor blocked my way. The smell of roasting meat must have called him back from the past.

Taking a deep breath I tackled these cement steps. At the top I found the barbecue!

Wonderful smells drifted on smoke across the plaza.

A beer garden was set up along one side where there was lots of seating whether you were drinking or not.

I got in line for the first Barbecue I saw, Chicago Ribs. I got a small rib sampler and bottled water. Very filling, Very good! Dry rub , sauce on the side. But there’s 5 more kinds to try, even one from Australia!

Wedding Capital of Tennessee

Posted on June 13, 2014June 13, 2014 by Dusty Roads

One thing I haven’t said too much about is weddings. Probably because I’m not in the market for a wedding venue. But I couldn’t help noticing all the cute little chapels scattered around Gatlinburg.

I looked up weddings in one of Gatlinburg’s brochures and found 12 different Chapels listed along with 5 additional outdoor or cabin venues. The brochure calls Gatlinburg the Wedding Capital of the South…not just Tennessee.

Gatlinburg Chapel is credited with introducing wedding chapels to the area and thousands of weddings have been performed here including Billy Ray Cyrus and Patti Lovelace.