“Full Of Hot Air” This is such a perfect blog entry for a writer, eh? About Hot Air?

The start to this story goes to yours truly thinking yesterday (and we all know how that usually works out) … so I was thinking it would be a good idea to just jump into the car and drive.

Kind of like running away from home.

Okay, exactly like running away from home.

So I picked a direction … somewhat at random … and drove many hours.

When I stopped, I bailed into a Very Inexpensive Motel. The plan was to quickly fall asleep and get up the next morning to take a look around the area.

The plan worked pretty well until about one in the morning. As in right after midnight.

Suddenly four drunken men were at the door to the room next to me … four very, very drunken men … in the hall … fumbling … trying to get into the door.

Oh. Joy.

But they were so funny. I couldn’t resist listening in.

Here’s how some of the conversation went … you can insert your own drunken slurring / loud pretend whispering / and other obvious drunken behavior …

“the key doesn’t work”
“here let me do it”
“but you had her reprogram it”
“no that’s not the new one that’s the old one”
“oh you always think you know how to do everything”
 “yeah that’s why you were sitting on the floor cross-legged at Applebee’s”
(Seems they had been spreading sunshine all over town)

“man we have to do something … ”
“what time do we have to get up in the morning for the race?”
“five o’clock”
”five o’clock?”
“yeah, five o’clock … but I knew you would come back this year to see me.”
“well I’m not going down there for a third time to have her reprogram it”
“Well all four of us have to get into the room somehow.””
Oh she can come up here. you know she wants me.”
 “hahahaha”
“oh right. she wants YOU”
 “SHH SHH … here she comes now”
“oh nowww you’re in trouble.”

At this point the very young lady who had been working the front desk appeared outside in the hall to help the fearsome foursome.
 “I don’t know whats wrong with it … it jusht won’t work.”

Flash forward one pause … one nanosecond later … young female voice …
“Geee, do you think it has something to do with the fact that you have a key for room 231 … and you are trying to use it to get into room 221?

Raucous laughter …
“OHH NOOO”
“I can’t BELIEVE we were doing that”
“OH NOOO”
“I’m so sorry …”

I couldn’t stop laughing here.

Called the front desk to thank her for my evenings entertainment. We laughed back and forth. She said I could come down there to help handle the four drunks still in the lobby if I wanted. I told her no matter what they were paying her, it wasn’t enough.

The thing is … I know what they were here for.

The Hot Air Balloon Races being held early … and I do mean early … each day here this weekend.

Do you have any idea how noisy a hot air balloon is? When they inflate it? And when they keep it in the air? At five in the morning? With a hangover?

A friend of mine used to do hot air balloons … and … well let’s just say it’s one of the NOISIEST things I have ever done. Fun … incredibly great fun … but also incredibly noisy.

Even more so with a hangover I am thinking.

And about the picture at the top?

Yeah, about that … well … you see … after struggling to get back to sleep after the Fearsome Foursome made their appearance, I just couldn’t see dragging myself out of bed at 4AM or 5AM or 6AM when each of the teams on the hall got up and noisily left for the races.

I figured I would wait until they actually started at 7 or 7:30 … and catch a few quick pictures of “Balloons In Air” to go with the blog entry here. Because that whole episode was definitely a blog entry waiting to be written.

When I looked out the window and saw several balloons in the air in the distance, I rushed to the car and quickly drove in the direction of the balloons.

Those little rascals move faster than I expected.

And we all know my luck taking pictures of things (birds, etc) in the air.

So, the picture above is what I got at the last minute … right as the balloons disappeared over the hills into the distance.

If I am not mistaken, that is a large bird on the right in the air.

Probably a Red Tailed Hawk.

Hopefully more balloon news tomorrow. With better pictures.

I hear one of the balloons is … unique. Think Jungle Fable.