Finally, did the hot air balloon.

After 11 cancellations, I was finally able to take the hot air balloon ride with my friend Pon. I had a non refundable tickets I originally bought for me and my mom last fall but was cancelled many times that I have to resort to having my friend go with me. Thank goodness he was interested and flexible so we were able to take the ride this evening. I was at the point that I just wanted to get the ride over with and have the experience I paid for. There was loads of anxiety about the ride being cancelled again that up until I was truly up in the air riding the balloon, I was not able to fully relax. The ride itself was uneventful. We took loads of photo from above. The sights was nothing spectacular. Just houses and trees that did not exude any particular wonderment. I was not so scared of heights as I thought I could be. It was not cold up several hundred of feet above. The heat from the fire used to heat the air in the balloon kept us toasty for the most part. The mild wind took us several miles NE from our original location slowly. It was the empty field beside a CVS pharmacy where the captain decided to land us. The landing process was a little exciting as we come close to the roof of the buildings and the trees and the electric wires but did not hit any of them. Many people from the ground saw us slowly descending and many waved and took pictures of the ballon. The actual touch down was a little bumpy as expected. The landing itself near the CVS caused some commotion with the people in the ground. Some perhaps thought we crash landed and they called 911. The police and ambulance and fire truck came. People gathered around the parking lot of CVS watching us and wondering what happened. The police spoke with our captain and found out that we were all OK and that the captain really intended to land us there. The ambulance and fire truck were sent away. Many more discussion with the captain and the police ensued. I saw the police issuing some kind of ticket to the captain and they took all our names and informations. Evidently there was a news reporter from one of the the local papers taking pictures and talking to witnesses also. It was hilarious how this landing was a big deal with the people of Joliet. I was wondering why cause they must have seen the balloon fly many times there before. All the bruhaha over the landing was resolved and we were all able to get home safely.

Even the excitement of the landing was not able to take away the vexation I had over the multiple cancellations.  So it is needless to say that I will NEVER take any hot air ballon ride again.   I have done it once and I am done with it.