Balloon Week

Mikaela reminds:
Don't forget it's time for the Balloon Fiesta!

While I continue to boycott the NM State Fair because it always arrives just in time to muck up my birthday plans (and the traffic, and the people, and the ... okay, I just don't really like the state fair!), I am a sucker for balloon week. Yes, I know it's actually balloon weeks, but just as I will always say "The Dollar Movie" to refer to San Mateo 8, despite that they charge $2, so I will refer to this two-week international festival as Balloon Week. Singular. So There.

Not to mention, I only ever go once, so it really is just one week for me.

I can't wait to wake up every morning and see all those colorful gas behemoths in the sky. I can't wait to tell my dog to stop barking as the pilots above our house give another pull to blast up more fire. I don't even mind all the additional folks at my favorite places to eat. Let 'em come!

Who wouldn't want to be here for this amazing event? It's totally crazy. All those balloons. Early rising in the fricking cold, rubbing elbows with a couple hundred thousand people before your eyes are even open? Breakfast burritos at 5 am, huevos rancheros at 11? I'm all over it!

The best ever balloon fiesta for me was in high school. The French club (mais oui) went house to house and got everybody up and in the car and basically hijacked a bunch of whining teenagers who pretty quickly shut up once the balloons started ascending in wave after wave of overwhelmingly big colorfulness.

This year, I get to be pretty excited because my brother in-law was selected as this year's Poster Artist - Darryl Willison. Not too shabby! He'll be there signing every morning, I think. Get yours soon! Mention me and get a confused look for free!

I'm also excited to take the Railrunner for my first Walk, Board, & Ride. How cool will it be to take the train to see balloons? Pretty cool! Look into that yourself here.

All in all, an incredible NM tradition. Love October! (Sorry to my sister Heidi, who hates the Balloon Fiesta for precisely the reason I hate the Fair. Oh, the cruelty of the world overlooking our own personal days of celebration!)