We were up and getting ready at 3 am and made it to the mall where the Park & Ride buses were just before 4 am.
There was already a huge line up waiting there and lots of buses.
The line up when all the way around the parking lot in kind of a "U" shape, it was huge and we were right at the back of it although it kept growing after we got there.
We could see one of the bus drivers getting her bus all decorated up right by where we were standing.
This is definitely the party bus.
Early morning but we are excited.
Once they started loading up the buses, it didn't really take long to go through the line ups.
It was right around 4:30 when we made it to the front of the line.
And what do you know, we had perfect timing because we made it onto the Party Bus!
Guess this means it's going to be our lucky day!
The bus driver really did a great job of making her bus festive.
They were actual school buses and school bus drivers and she even had artwork by her kids posted in the bus.
I thought that was so great.
She told us we were the fun bus and every time we went around a corner she expected us to say "Weeee" and everyone did.
It was so fun and such a great atmosphere.
Weeeeeee!!!
It took about 30 minutes to get out to the grounds.
It was just packed with people.
We found a spot to get a breakfast sandwich and stood around eating it and just taking everything in.
We went exploring a bit and came upon the wood carvers.
They were carving with chainsaws which I thought was quite amazing.
There was a giant Bigfoot wood carving.
A Groot too - loved it!
Lots of other carvings too which I think were going to be sold or auctioned or something.
The little bear was cute.
The dragonfly was awesome too.
The grounds were huge.
It had a carnival atmosphere and all the carnival tents and food to go with.
We were there for the Mass Ascension which is when all the hot air balloons take flight at the same time.
It supposedly happens around 7 so we headed out to the field to look for a spot to watch from.
Out of nowhere, we saw Princess Leia and Hans Solo walk by.
A bunch of other Star Wars characters too.
There were tons of them.
Storm Troopers
The Dark Side
The Force
Even Ewoks.
More soldiers
Darth Vader was even there.
We had no idea why they were all dressed up but it was cool to see.
We had bought a blanket and found an empty spot on the grass and just sat there and watched everything.
We saw the sun start to rise and then a bunch of hot air balloons starting to rise as well.
This is a view of the mountains behind us - so pretty.
Some of the balloons were lighting up and it looked so pretty.
We kept waiting and waiting but nothing really seemed to be happening.
Then one of them lifted off and the crowd erupted in cheers and applause.
Up, up, up and away it went.
Soon after, another followed.
They look so pretty up there.
Then another went.
It was pretty chilly out so I was thinking it would be cold up in the basket of the balloon but I didn't figure in the heat that the fire would give off.
There goes another.
We were kind of confused because they weren't all going at once so we thought it was kind of a strange 'mass ascension'.
I liked this American Flag one.
I think in all we saw about 9 of them go up.
Just waiting for more of them to go up.
Like the bird on this one.
We happened upon the Star Wars group again.
Turns out they were the 'crew' for the Darth Vadar hot air balloon.
Their costumes were so awesome.
They just looked so realistic.
Looks like the enemies have become friends.
I like this shot with all the hot air balloons in the background.
Not often you get to have your picture taken with a Storm Trooper.
More awesome costumes.
They're giving me fist bumps - love it!
I think every single character from Star Wars was represented.
DV showing off his light saber.
Hans, Leia and their son?
So most of the hot air balloons that had inflated earlier were now deflating.
But some others started to inflate here and there, like this Captain America one.
We didn't really know what the heck was going on and just kept wondering when the mass ascension was going to happen.
An odd one would take off.
The basket looks so little.
A few more went.
It really is something to see.
There goes the Canon one, it was the first one we saw inflate this morning.
The Rainbow Ryder twins.
They look pretty neat from underneath.
These shape ones are the ones that I really want to see.
It really was pretty foggy out there this morning.
All around us balloons were starting to inflate.
The sun came up over the mountains and I was so happy to see it, it started warming me up immediately.
We weren't really sure as we'd never seen one before but this didn't seem like much of a mass ascension to us.
Balloons were just popping up everywhere now, and look at all the people.
I like the colors on this one.
They are massive when they are laying out and they need plenty of room to inflate them.
So many different variations.
This is Yoda and Darth Vadar being inflated.
Wow, just look at them all.
It really is something to see in person.
Selfie.
More and more were going up everywhere you looked.
We tried to get over to get a closer look but you just couldn't get through the crowd this way.
So many beautiful colors.
We got to see up close how they get them inflated.
It takes a whole team of people to do it.
My Honey.
I had warmed up a bit by this time but I still wasn't ready to give up the blanket.
DV is finally up.
So is Yoda.
I've seen these two balloon so many times in pictures on the internet, so it felt amazing to be there and seeing them in person.
So many color combinations.
They all looked just beautiful.
There was a cow shaped one in behind DV.
The blue bird is finally up too, it was too congested for me to get around to take a shot of the front.
We headed away from the crown and at the other end of the field, they were getting balloons out and ready to inflate.
There were a lot fewer people down at this end which was nice.
More balloons.
More and more were going up.
So cool.
A better shot of Groot in the day light.
We went to the very edge of the grounds and went up on this hill so we could get a better view.
We were still hoping that the mass ascension was going to take place.
Balloon, balloons as far as the eye could see.
Looks like a Canadian one, from Quebec.
More still going up.
What a thing to see and be part of.
Once the ones at the far end where we were started going up, we couldn't really see behind them.
We kind of figured out by this time too that the mass ascension wasn't going to be happening today, it had been cancelled because of the fog.
We were a bit disappointed but it was still pretty amazing to be there and see all the balloons in person.
Cool looking armadillo.
Not sure if this was a monster or a blueberry or what?
I liked him though.
Smokey the Bear.
I think these are the last few balloon to inflate.
This red headed one is almost up.
There it is, looks like Ronald McDonald.
We decided to head back in to the field now that we knew that no more balloons were going to flying today.
A better shot of the cow.
How great is that?
This frog one is so fun.
A Queen's guardsman with the bearskin hat.
A better view of the bluebird - I think it's a character from Angry Birds.
Once we got back down on the field we were able to see some balloons in behind that we hadn't seen earlier.
It was still just as crowded.
Saw a smurf.
Bimbo the Bear.
A penguin.
A gas attendant.
We were a bit tired by this time and decided to head back now that we knew the mass ascension wasn't going to be happening.
We got in line to catch the Park & Ride buses back to the mall to get the car.
Once we got there, we looked for a nearby place to grab some breakfast.
It had been hours since we'd had our 'first' breakfast.
We found this place, Sunnyside Up.
There was a line-up so we had to wait about a half hour but we didn't mind.
This pumpkin waffle looked so good that we ordered one for us to share, kind of like a desert.
I was in the mood for a skillet and ordered the Texas Steak skillet.
It looked pretty good.
It didn't look like a huge amount of food but it filled me up pretty good.
My Honey had the Huevos Rancheros - he liked it.
The waffle was as delicious as I suspected it would be.
When we were getting back into the car, we notice this enormous grasshopper sitting on the trunk.
He was huge!
We went back to the room and had a bit of a nap.
It was an early morning for us and we were both tired.
When we got there, we found that the grasshopper was still on the car - amazing he stayed on for the whole drive.
When we got back up, we decided to head out to the casino and check out the art show.
I like how the overpasses are that pinkish sandy color.
Just some of the artwork along the roadway.
There is always a view of the mountain range too - it's pretty.
It was the Sandia Casino we went to.
It was a little ways out of the city.
We walked through and looked at all the arts & crafts.
There were lots of beautiful things but they were on the pricey side.
There were food vendors outside too but we didn't get anything - we were still pretty full from breakfast.
We walked over to the casino which was just beside where the craft show was.
It was a beautiful casino.
We each gambled and lost 20 bucks.
Then on the way out, we tried one last machine and ended up winning back 50 so in the end, we broke even.
We spent a few hours in there though so it was entertainment for the afternoon.
We headed back into the city and were ready for supper so we found another of the places on our list.
Standard Diner.
This one was also featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
It was in downtown Albuquerque and had the look to it like it had been around for some time.
They sat us in a room full of windows but it still felt pretty dark in there.
We tried this strawberry milky drink.
We weren't that impressed.
We had the crab dip for a starter - it was fabulous.
My Honey had a green chile burger.
He's sure getting his fill of those while we are here.
I tried the meatloaf which was featured on the Triple D episode.
It was good - it was a lot though and I wasn't able to finish.
Afterwards we walked around the area a bit.
We came across some great murals again.
I'm not much into skulls really but I can still appreciate the effort that went into this and it is interesting.
We considered going to a movie as there was a theater nearby but we were both really tired so decided against that.
I figured I'd likely fall asleep so why waste the money.
Instead we headed back to the room and had another fairly early night.
No wonder I was tired - love seeing all this green though!
That is all for today, until next time, be happy!
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