Takin' the Blog for a Walk

I Owe I Owe it's off to blog I go

Posted by Brien Lee on Feb. 8, 2010

8) my favorite things, full of hot air

I owe a lot of people a debt of gratitude.

Thanks to Jeff at North American Computer for repairing our computer twice in the last couple weeks. The blog is a happy blog. Thanks also to visitors of WaukeshaNOW for their patience while Jeff did his thing.

Thanks to my family for allowing me a much-needed vacation to Hudson this last weekend.

Thanks to the guy who invented cruise control, the people who maintain the freeways, and all the other drivers out there who helped keep me safe by not crashing into me.

To the organizers in Hudson, WI who've been putting together a winter hot air balloon rally for the past 21 years, and the residents who came out to welcome the 30 or so balloonists.

To the guy at Google Maps who thought it would be funny to key in directions on one word and not on the whole address. If you hadn't screwed up I never would have met Bob and his wife on Crestview Trail instead of just getting to the hotel on Crestview Road.

Thanks to the plow operator on Crestview Trail who thought it would look better to push the snow a few feet to the side of the road and level with the road surface.

More than I can ever type... mucho thanko to Bob, the kind octogenarian who got out of bed at 11:00p.m. to pull a stranger and his Toyota out of a snowy ditch with his truck.

Thanks also to Best Western Hudson House Inn on Crestview Road. When I finally arrived at midnight after working all day and driving 330 miles... asking for more money than I had, or a credit card which I didn't have.

Thanks to my friend Rod, who answered his cell at midnight, and thanks to John who allowed me to bring a rollaway bed in his room.

Thanks to Vicks, makers of NYQUIL and DAYQUIL, which I'd been taking for a week and which kept me from keeping others awake with my coughing.

Much abliged to Ken and Kay Walter, owners of Wind Dancer Balloon Promotions here in Waukesha, who invited me to ride a warm breath of air across the St. Croix River into Minnesota in the basket of their balloon "Kay's Wind Dancer."  You are great friends. Thanks.

I can't thank Tom, Ben and Jack enough for crewing for us. Stupendous job!

Appreciative to the guy who invented the sled we used to tow the basket and envelope out of the snowy field with. It saved our backs and a lot of time.

This was a great weekend for me. The weather was perfect for this time of year. I absorbed the scenery, both night and day, as I traversed diagonally across Wisconsin. It did a lot of good for the stress level to ride quietly alone for hours in the car. The heat was set at the right temperature, the radio always played the tunes I was interested in, only stopped when I wanted to and, best of all, I won all the arguments.

This is what the border between WI and MN looks like from the basket of a hot air balloon in winter. We're floating above another balloon, "Valley Girl," as we cross the St. Croix. Ice is on the Wisconsin side.

More images of the 21st Annual Hudson Hot Air Affair are available by clicking here.

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John, my friend from Lake Geneva, created the coolest video of the weekend. You can watch it by clicking here.