{"id":2077,"date":"2013-09-16T14:11:17","date_gmt":"2013-09-16T18:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/?p=2077"},"modified":"2013-09-16T14:11:17","modified_gmt":"2013-09-16T18:11:17","slug":"hot-air-balloon-excitement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/16\/hot-air-balloon-excitement\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot Air Balloon Excitement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I was part of a team that helped set-up, chase, recover, and put-away a hot air balloon yesterday. \u00a0And a friend actually got to ride in it! \u00a0Was a really captivating experience for all. \u00a0I was surprised to hear the passengers say that it wasn&#8217;t windy &#8212; even as they traveled at heights of 1,400 feet! \u00a0The pilot explained that the sensation was due to the fact that they were moving with the wind, so there was no wind to feel. \u00a0How cool is that?! \u00a0Maybe life is like that. \u00a0Maybe when we don&#8217;t want to feel life&#8217;s resistance, we simply have to move with life. \u00a0This experience also reminded me how helpful it is to have friends. \u00a0The riders could not have flown had it not been for us following after them in a car. \u00a0I learned that a hot air balloon can only be controlled to go up and down, but not left or right, so each ride ends at an unknown location. \u00a0Without some ground support, the riders would be stuck wherever they landed. \u00a0Thank goodness for friends who watch out for us and have our back &#8212; allowing us to soar when it&#8217;s our turn! \u00a0Life is such a team effort.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl id=\"attachment_2079\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1210px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131744.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2079\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131744.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131744.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131744-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131744-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"text-align: left;\">Inflating the balloon<\/span><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl id=\"attachment_2080\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1610px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131745a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-2080\" src=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131745a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131745a.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131745a-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131745a-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131745a-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"text-align: left;\">A view inside during inflation, while standing on the ground at the top of the balloon<\/span><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl id=\"attachment_2081\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1610px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2081\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131750.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131750.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131750-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131750-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131750-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><span style=\"text-align: left;\">Preparing for flight<\/span><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl id=\"attachment_2082\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1610px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-2082\" src=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131753a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131753a.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131753a-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131753a-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131753a-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><span style=\"text-align: left;\">I took this pic on the ground. I was helping to hold down the basket as the pilot was making some final adjustments. The heat and the sound of the burner was startling and incredible&#8230;as was the view looking up into the giant balloon. \u00a0<\/span><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl id=\"attachment_2083\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1610px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2083\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131755b.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131755b.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131755b-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131755b-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131755b-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><span style=\"text-align: left;\">Those of us standing on the ground and helping to hold onto the basket were instructed to let go. \u00a0As soon as we did the balloon ascended so quickly and effortlessly!<\/span><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl id=\"attachment_2084\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1610px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2084\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131755c.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131755c.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131755c-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131755c-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131755c-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><span style=\"text-align: left;\">Everything was so quiet and time seemed to stand still.<\/span><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl id=\"attachment_2085\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1610px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2085\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131756.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131756.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131756-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131756-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131756-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><span style=\"text-align: left;\">Up, up, and away!<\/span><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl id=\"\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1610px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2086\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131757.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131757.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131757-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131757-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131757-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><span style=\"text-align: left;\">I bet the view from up there was spectacular!<\/span><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl id=\"attachment_2087\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1610px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2087\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"text-align: left;\">The landing and retrieval<\/span><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<dl id=\"attachment_2078\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1610px;\">\n<dt class=\"wp-caption-dt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840b.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2078\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840b.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840b.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840b-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840b-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/0914131840b-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"text-align: left;\">Such a picturesque and memorable moment. \u00a0There&#8217;s something so magical about any kind of balloon&#8230;they bring out the dreamer in me<\/span><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>~ \u00a0 ~ \u00a0 ~ \u00a0 ~ \u00a0 ~ \u00a0 ~ \u00a0 ~<br \/>\nNow on Facebook!\u00a0<a title=\"click here for my HISTG.com FB page\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HoneyIShrunkTheGrief\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HoneyIShrunkTheGrief<br \/>\n<\/a>Now on Twitter!\u00a0<a title=\"click here for my HISTG.com Twitter page\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/EricVaiksnoras\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/EricVaiksnoras<br \/>\n<\/a>Check out my book!\u00a0<a title=\"my book \" href=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/book\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/book\/<br \/>\n<\/a>Feeling grateful? or feeling low?\u00a0<a title=\"HISTG Thank You Card blog post\" href=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/2012\/09\/27\/sign-the-thank-you-card-today\/\">Sign the Thank You Card! \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"click here to return to my home page\" href=\"http:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/\">click here to return to home page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was part of a team that helped set-up, chase, recover, and put-away a hot air balloon yesterday. \u00a0And a friend actually got to ride in it! \u00a0Was a really captivating experience for all. \u00a0I was surprised to hear the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/16\/hot-air-balloon-excitement\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,119,257,192,129,193,85,109,183,258,185,13,54,14,44,21,256,184,253,130,136,131,12,20,11,57,25],"class_list":["post-2077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-love-will-find-a-way","tag-a-young-widower-discovers-love-will-find-a-way","tag-all-are-one","tag-balloons","tag-celebrate-our-disabilities-and-heartbreaks-for-they-make-us-beautiful","tag-death","tag-defy","tag-eric-vaiksnoras","tag-faith","tag-feeling-grateful-or-feeling-low-sign-the-thank-you-card","tag-flying","tag-follow-on-twitter","tag-grief","tag-griever","tag-grieving","tag-honey-i-shrunk-the-grief","tag-hope","tag-hot-air-balloon-excitement","tag-like-on-facebook","tag-live-laugh-and-love","tag-loss","tag-loving-thoughts-and-actions-give-my-life-meaning","tag-mourn","tag-widow","tag-widowed","tag-widower","tag-www-honeyishrunkthegrief-com","tag-young-widower"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2077"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2127,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077\/revisions\/2127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honeyishrunkthegrief.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}