Balloons Over the Bibb

Last night the Historic Columbus Foundation sponsored Celebrate Columbus at the RiverMill Centre - an event to celebrate historic Bibb City and to honor the firefighters who fought the massive fire that destroyed the historic Bibb Mill last October.

Part of event were hot air balloon rides. Unfortunately, wind gusts keep the colorful balloons grounded and empty of both air and passengers during the early hours of the festivities. But two of the pilots decided to wait it out, and sure enough, as dusk descended the winds calmed. And up went the balloons.

The shot that I was looking for was 'colorful balloons over brick and mortar ruins.' But losing light - and no way to get a really good angle - nixed that. I made a bit of a shot - but not what I had visualized. I would need to hover higher than the balloons in just the right spot to frame it just right. Where's my jet-pack.

It was fun just hanging out. And it's a sweet ride. You just sort of glide. It didn't even feel like we were rising. We hovered at about 30 feet.

The pilots, Tim Billingsly and Dave Sullivan, told me that the burners put out 22 million BTUs of energy using liquid propane. That is enough to heat a four bedroom house in about 5 seconds - if you could duct it that quick. But in the basket the heat feels like a fire in a fireplace - warm to your face but the air around you stays cool.

It was a beautiful evening.
Robin