Balloon balloons

(This post had been languishing in Mama's draft folder for way too long, waylaid by oh so many things, mainly real life and some sort of writer's block. Mama actually had to change the post title just so it was not too obviously (and embarassingly!) late. Let's just say it was during the first half of the year and leave it at that, yes? Anyway, I do hope you'll still enjoy it. Cheers!)

Dawn was breaking on Valentine's day morning when we slowly made our way through the traffic of fellow flying enthusiasts towards the Clark Airfield, because, after a break last year, the Hot Air Balloon festival in Clark was back this year!

Back in its original site, I believe this was the same site as our first attendance, when we did not manage to get into the fair grounds due to the long lines. The second time we came, the fair was held in a different site, closer to the express way, and we went in the afternoon instead of in the morning. This time, we chose the morning balloon flight.

It was a beautiful morning with some cloud cover. The cloud certainly made the sunrise more interesting. We went through the hangar, with Kecil insisting that we hurry, only to .... a magical world on the other side.

There seemed to be more balloons compared to the previous years, quite a few whimsical ones, such as the animal barn behind Mama and Baby above.

Kecil wanted to be carried (for a better look at the balloon, she said). Fair enough. There WAS quite a   lot of people around. Besides, I think Daddy recognize that it wouldn't be too long before she is too heavy to carry so he intended to make full use of his ability to carry her at her current weight.

Once the balloons were released, we were free to roam the grounds to see stuff such as helicopters, planes, kites, people getting ready with their parachute blowers...

Not for nothing the event was called "a weekend for all that flies"....

We also spot this dedicated photographer. Man, those looked heavy! Mama's 'big' camera looked puny in comparison!

Upik looked a bit confused while we poked around the grounds. There were booths for flight schools from around the area. One of them put up the cardboard airplane that Kecil took picture with.

At one corner of the fair grounds, there was also a segway booth where you can rent the segway to navigate through a short maze. Well... a segway does not fly, but since neither Mama and Daddy had ever tried a segway before, we said why not, and took turn baby sitting while the other took the ride. It was quite fun if a bit scary at first. Kecil was not tall enough for one, though, so she just sat with the baby-sitting parent.

As the sun crept higher, it was getting hotter at the fair ground. We made our move back to the car then. We stopped only to buy some balloon lantern to replace Kecil's old one in her room as well as gifts for her friends.

We were walking towards the car when we saw the cavalry paraded by.

What a sight, especially with the flags!  Haha... That was quite some ending to our visit to the balloon fest. We continued to the mall to have some lunch (and aircon!) before we headed back home. It was, all in all, a good daytrip. We might be going again for the next balloon fest. Who knows? Until then. Cheers!