Battle Creek - Update 4

So the event is over...and here's what I've decided: It's hard to keep up on a blog when you're sleep deprived and busy from 5am until late at night every day! But here's how the week finished....I ended up 17th and walked away with a little bit of money. Each flight I improved my overall position and wished I had another day or two so that I could jump up a few more spots before the end...buut unfortunately I didn't and now have to look forward to next event to improve on my national ranking. I'll post a few pictures in the next couple days from the event.

Boats, Balloons, and BBQ starts in a week and a half and should be a great time.

Battle Creek - Update 3

We were able to fly a 3 part task this morning. My baggie on the first target is right on the edge of the field so it may or may not be scored. The other 2 targets were missed by all except for maybe 1, so we shall see what kind of scores I get. Weather is looking half way decent for tonights flight so we may have another task. We are off to a bowling competition right now between pilots and crews and then back to the field for briefing at 6:30 PM

Battle Creek - Update 2

Flight number 3 as well at the balloon glow this evening was canceled due to wind. Tomorrow morning is looking promising with light winds out of the northwest. Here are a couple of pictures from the picnic we went to today

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Sandy Raya and Mr. Josh waiting in line to get food.


Me and Mr. Josh.


Me, Shawn Raya, and Rick Kerber.

Here is also a few pics from Howell that never made it up.


Sat. evenings launch from the field.


Sarah taking a sip of the beer before digging into the 5 lb burrito!

There are many other good pics that I don't currently have my hands on and may post at a later date when I get bored and decide to throw some random pictures up here. Stay tuned for some updates and hopefully some good news about flying in the morning.

Till then....

Battle Creek - Update 1

We were weathered out of our first two flights. Rain got the best of us last night and we woke up this morning with low ceilings (1000 ft). We are off to a pig roast this afternoon and hope for better weather later. Once we get through tonight we should be looking pretty good for the rest of the weekend.

More updates to come....

Howell

Sorry for not having any updates over the weekend, but things were just a bit hectic. However, we were able to have a great flight on Friday evening (mom got to go up). Saturday morning we flew a three part task: a fly in, a watership down, and a multiple judge declared goal. Saturday evening was a 2 part task: a hare and hound and a multiple judge declared goal. I didn't fly well and didn't finish anywhere in the top 10, but hopefully I've got that all out my system now and will do well during the Field of Flight here in Battle Creek that starts tomorrow. I have some pics from Howell and will try to post some in the next day or two as well as competition updates.

3 1/2 days and counting...

The Michigan Challenge Balloon Fest starts Friday. We'll be heading up there at some point Friday afternoon with the first flight scheduled for Friday evening. Additional flights will be flown Saturday morning and evening and Sunday morning, weather permitting. There is also fireworks scheduled for Friday night and a balloon glow scheduled for Saturday at dark.

For more details visit http://www.michiganchallenge.com/

In the next few days I will be attempting to create an up-cover for the basket so that it will be covered during the heat of the day to prevent fading due to the sun. It should be an interesting experience, so be sure to check in to see the progress.

...and here's a random picture to keep your interest since everyone likes pictures :)



...this is what the balloon looks like from above while in flight.

Till next time...

Pics

Here are a few pics from a couple of flights in town.


Dave Emmert and Mike Moore as they approach St. Mary's Lake.


Dave Emmert and Mike Moore over St. Mary's Lake.


Myself and Derrick Jones in the Great Tony Balloon right before launch.


Ms. Baily (boss's daughter) in my basket after the flight.

The Michigan Challenge Balloon Fest is less then 2 weeks away (June 26, 27, 28) with the Battle Creek Field of Flight starting 2 days after, so stay tuned for many more updates as ballooning season is starting to hit full stride!

Battle Creek Flights

There has been a little bit of flying going on since my last post from Frankenmuth. Unfortunately, the first time I didn't have my camera with me, and the second and third times I have pics from, I just don't have my camera with me currently to be able to post them (hopefully I'll be able to do that at some point tomorrow). The first flight I flew with Amanda Kijek in her balloon while Steve flew our balloon (was actually the first time I've seen our balloon in flight from the air). The second flight in town I again rode with Amanda in her balloon and had another great flight. She was able to do her first spash and dash in St. Mary's Lake. On this particular flight we had 3 other balloons flying with us. The third flight in town I actually flew our balloon and took my boss along with me. We had a great flight...took off from Kirby Rd and landed at Liela Arboretum.

The weather looks good for a couple of flights this weekend in which Steve will be doing the flying. I will try to post a few pics from the weekend on Sunday.

Till then....

Frankenmuth Update 5 - The last from Frankenmuth

It's about 3:15pm here in Michigan and I just pulled in about a 1/2 hour ago from the 2 hour drive home from Frankenmuth. I didn't get a chance to update last night on the days festivities, so here goes...

After catching a couple hours of sleep after breakfast, a few of us went outside to check out some more of the dog activities. We first decided to go and try out a mirror maze. It's hard to get good pictures, but here ya go.





This was quite an expierience....very difficult to determine which way to go...the gloves are to keep all of the hand prints off the mirrors. They say that if you don't feel where you're going before you go there, you will smack right into a mirror...it's true.

After the maze, we went and check out the dock dogs and saw some incredible jumps, the longest being around 26 ft! After the dock dogs, we watched a few of the wiener dog races. While watching the races, this is what passes by.



Next, we went and watched a border collie sheep herding demonstration.



This was very neat to watch. Amazing the instinct that these dogs have.

Next to the sheep herding, there were disk dogs. Check it out!



After checking out all of the dogs, it was 3pm and time to watch the Red Wings play...6-1 win!

We had evening briefing at 6pm. The weather ended up working out for us as we were able to fly a 1 part multiple judge declared goal task. Only 3 people were able to score, I unfortunately was not one of them. I did however land in one of the best landing places to date. As I was approaching to land, I hear people hooting and hollering, and when I landed all of them ran back to greet me. First question being...want a beer?! (I think they may have all had a few themselves). They were a great group of people who were very entertained by me landing there...and I was very entertained by them :)

After the flight, we headed back to the hotel to refuel and head for our awards dinner. Mom, this pictures for you!


(mashed potatoes, noodles, carrots, stuffing, chicken, beef, and breadsticks...delicious)

And to finish up the meal...cherry strudel, YUM!



After we were all done eating, a few of us all hung out and chatted for a bit before heading to bed. We woke up at 10:30 this morning so we could be checked out by 11. After we packed everything up we hit the road back to the Battle Creek. A few minutes into the ride, we tossed around the idea of getting some lunch. Since I can never make decisions, we drove a little while until we saw a sign for a restaurant that we have no where near Battle Creek., so we had to go. And it was...none other then White Castle!



We grabbed a couple of burgers and got back on the road. Now at home, I am avoiding unpacking everything from the truck...but I suppose it must be done.

All in all it was an awesome trip as always when we visit Frankenmuth. Can't wait for next year to come around so I can go back! The next event I fly in is Howell, MI in a month, but I will try to post some pictures of flights here in town between now and then.

Till next time....

Frankenmuth Update 4 - Rain Rain Go Away

When going to bed last night, all looked well for this mornings flight so the rain covers stayed off of everything. After waking up this morning and walking outside, no sooner did I arrive at the truck did something wet hit my arm...then another. Not being very observant at 5:45 AM, I didn't notice the dark skies overhead on my way out there. I quickly covered up the basket and envelope before the rain really started. Turns out that we were on the northern tip of some rain showers that were covering most of Michigan. After being on hold for an hour, the rain passed, but the winds were still strong. The flight was canceled so we all grabbed some breakfast at one of the hotels' restaurants. Most people are catching a bit more sleep before the afternoon dog activities....and I think I may just do the same.

Lets hope for some good weather later...

Frankenmuth Update 3 - Michigan Weather

You have to love Michigan weather...the 10% chance of rain this morning came through and canceled our flight, however, the 60% chance of thunderstorms this evening we never saw! We ended up flying a "fun" hare and hound . The word "fun" meaning that it was not towards overall or BFA scoring.



The winds changed complete direction on all of us in flight, so nobody was able to get to the hare balloon (intended target).

We were also able to do our glow tonight....this was probably the most calm winded glow I've done in a while.



All of the kids walk around with sheets of paper with all of the balloon pictures on them and ask for autographs....I think I signed about 100 tonight!

The weather looks pretty good for tomorrow, so hopefully we are able to get a couple of task in. Well, briefing in a few hours so sleep is a must right now.

Till next time...

Frankenmuth Update 2 - Afternoon Fun...

After breakfast we took the time to catch a quick nap. A few of us then decided to walk out and watch a little wiener dog racing and some dock dog jumping.





Just sitting around right now waiting for the evening briefing which starts at 6. Things still don't look too great, but we'll just have to wait and see. We have another glow scheduled for tonight, but again, will just have to wait and see what the weather does.

Till later.....

Frankenmuth Update 1

Well, we got in to Frankenmuth right around 7pm last night just as the master briefing was starting. After quickly running things upstairs to the room, we went out and were able to do a glow.





This morning we had a 1 part task called before being put on hold due to a couple of rain cells in the area. Long story short, the rain covers went on and we headed to Birch Run and ate at Tony's I-75.

The weather doesn't look too good for the rest of the day but we are hopeful that tomorrow will work and that we are able to fly. Wiener dog races are set for today at 3pm...hope to catch those given that it's not thunder storming out.

More updates to come....

The New Additions...

Ok, so I am finally able to post these pictures! Pictures of the new lift and waterproof covers that were picked up yesterday from Cameron Balloons.


View from passenger side.


View from drivers side (don't mind the camera wristband in the photo ha).

Stay tuned....I'm currently preparing myself for the voyage to Frankenmuth, MI and right now the weather looks like we may be able to do a bit of flying. I also hope to sneak in a flight tomorrow morning...thanks mom and Laura for helping :)

...and the countdown begins!

The time is finally here! Friday I leave to head up to Frankenmuth, MI for Hot Air Hounds. Weather pending, we'll have a glow Friday and Saturday nights with flights Saturday and Sunday morning and evenings. 15 balloons will attend the event this year as well as many dogs from around the country. Last year they had all sorts of dog activities, including the Cabela's dock dogs which run and jump off a dock into a pool of water...furthest distance wins. Also, last year we were very entertained by wiener dog races...if you've never seen one, they're hilarious and I hope to post a video on here during the weekend.

Be sure to check in often this week as I will be posting various pictures of "new additions" to our ballooning expierience prior to leaving on Friday.