Yesterday was the first day of the Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival. Opening festivities were planned for Crandall Park in Glens Falls, NY. But then the rains came and the wind gusts started…up to 10 miles per hour according to the weather reports. So they held the block party but no balloons in the air.
Maybe today will be better.
New Jersey…YES
I debated about New Jersey but in the end I had to say yes. My experience with New Jersey isn’t the typical vacation experience but I think I was there enough for it to qualify as a YES state.
I had an uncle that lived in New Jersey and I went to visit him several times. He lived in Clifton Park and we’d sit on his enclosed porch and look across the Hudson River at the skyline of New York City.
When a friend got married in New Jersey, another friend & I took the opportunity to visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty located in upper New York Bay. The state border of New York and New Jersey runs through the bay’s midpoint. The original islands remain New York territory despite their location on the New Jersey side of the state line. The ferry we took to the islands left from the New Jersey side.
Another reason I felt I had spent enough time in the state to cross it off is Atlantic City. In the years I was affiliated with the Arthur Murray Franchised Dance Studios I spent many trips attending dance competitions which were always held in one of the casinos in Atlantic City.
Not much of a gambler I spent any “down time” walking the boardwalk.
Of course we aren’t counting flying into airports. I have made the flight into Newark airport many times most recently on the return trip from Alaska. But changing planes in an airport doesn’t count. 🙂
Recently New Jersey has had more than its share of trouble. The coast was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Boardwalks and arcades were rebuilt in time for the summer season only to be destroyed all over again by a raging fire, the cause of which is attributed to corroded wiring because of the water damage from the hurricane. But, like a phoenix I have no doubt New Jersey will rise again from the ashes.
I am certain that I will visit the state again. It is close enough to Massachusetts that it can be a weekend get away and there are still more things that interest me in the state.
New Mexico …NO
This is a state I keep flirting with. There is so much that I want to see and do there but I prefer to use my timeshare and that’s the problem. New Mexico is a pretty big state and there is only one timeshare exchange and it’s located in Santa Fe.
There’s a huge hot air balloon festival every year in Albuquerque and I’d love to take that in. 
But Roswell is way to the south of Albuquerque and how can I go to New Mexico and not explore Roswell, the heart of the UFO phenomenon?
Even farther south is Carlsbad Caverns National Park. That’s been on my must visit bucket list from day one! the pictures I’ve seen of these caves are amazing. I’ve visited caves before including Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota but each cave is different.
A 2.5 hour drive from Santa Fe will get me to New Mexico’s land of Fire and Ice. The Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano are located in the west-central, Zuni Mountain range of New Mexico, where NM State Hwy 53 crosses the North American Continental Divide. This cave and it’s neighboring volcano sound really interesting too.
I also heard about an amazing railroad trip. I thought it took you through the Chihuahua Mountains crossing into Mexico and Texas but I may be confused because when I tried to find it again struck out. But I did find The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad which was originally constructed in 1880 as part of the San Juan Extension of the Denver & Rio Grande Western.
Needless to say, I need to take that train ride too.
I’ve gone on a bit more than I wanted to. But the tally now is 11 visited/ 20 to go.
Since it’s Sunday I thought I’d take a break from the Alaska story to brag a little bit. While we were in Alaska and unable to obtain a copy of the Boston Sunday Globe, another of my pictures got published. It was the Sunday May 19th issue. The picture appeared in the travel section under the feature called The Sight. That is the 2nd picture they have accepted. I managed to get some back issues so here it is.
Just had to share the news 🙂 Tomorrow I’ll start telling you about Skagway.
It’s been a few months since I did any traveling. Sometimes I just need to take some time to recharge that way I appreciate my trips more. I found last summer that one trip after another was exciting but draining. By the time I was headed out on my last trip I was worn out. It was so easy when I reached my sister’s house for the Adirondack Balloon Festival to just kick back. The weather helped because it rained so several launches were canceled.
It’s a new year now and my travel schedule is just getting started. The first thing I found was that my new and improved tripod with it’s “ball head” doesn’t fit in my old suitcase. After much debate I decided to get a new suitcase rather than leave the tripod home.
It was also time to replace my luggage tags. The old ones were starting to fade and I’d even managed to break the corner on one.
Rocky was ready to perch on my suitcase for a new portrait for the new tags.
(I’ve covered up the name and phone # on the tag for obvious reasons)
But one thing hasn’t changed. I’ll still have the suitcase with the most cat hair on it. Rocky immediately took his place on top of the suitcase. I can see packing is going to be its usual challenge!
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 .
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.