By the time the sun rose, the last of the balloons were being inflated. It looked like the Dollar Tree across the parking lot was overstocked with giant helium balloons.

Wind had been a concern for my last two flights, and the windiness of the previous evening had made me wonder if I was in for more of the same. Happily, the forecast seemed to be right, and the calm, clear morning was great relief. I had time to be interviewed by a little girl who hosts her own show on a local public access cable channel. Then, I got into my harness, and crew finished attaching all of the balloons to me. I walked over to the grassy field at the north end of the parking lot to launch with the hot-air balloons. David straightened out all the strings of my balloons while we waited for the other pilots to finish inflating.

The hot-air balloons began to lift off. Crew released me, and my balloons carried me up into the skies of Maine.

 

 

 

 

 

\

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\

 

 

 

 

 

Continued....