Though we have been living here, just a county away, from Callaway Gardens for all these years, I had never been to the Balloon Festival before. Doing other things over the Labor Day weekend, or working? I don't know - I just never got there. Surprising as neat as much as I enjoy the idea of drifting, silent flight you would have traveling by hot air balloon.
I started volunteering at Callaway back in the spring, when I heard about other people who were going to their Annual Plant Fair, who were also part of the local Master Gardening group. I went for several days to the Plant Fair, even though The Gardens wants volunteers to be 'trained' before they are actually in a position to 'represent' the Gardens in public. It took me several months to successfully reschedule and complete the training - and I think I have participated in a couple of education events as a worker-bee since.
I knew that ballooning event was coming up, and requested to be on the list of workers for Friday night and Saturday morning. Then recruited some other mildly interested volunteers as hangers-on. We went up on Friday, and were sorta disappointed to not be useful. It was really impressive to see all those huge nylon, brightly colored envelopes fill with air, then slowly stand erect along the beach at Robin Lake. A couple of the balloons had advertising on them, I assume corporately sponsored by Harley Davidson motorcycles and Re-Max real estate sales/marketing. But all the others were gloriously colored, looking like huge pieced quilts as they were filled with forced air by large portable fans. There were at least a dozen there along the grass - really spectacular as the sun went down and balloonists would heat the air with blasts of propane and you saw the gas glow from inside the huge 'envelope' as the balloons gradually came upright. I can imagine it is a tricky proposition, heating the confined air just enough to keep the balloon inflated, but not so much that the wicker basket, with pilot and large tank of propane, lifts off the ground.
My agreement as a volunteer was to be there to 'assist' (which we didn't do, as the balloon teams/crews did not need extra hands) was from 6:30 to 9:30, but about 8:30, I said: 'well, it looks to me like the fireworks show is about half over, so it must be time to go home and beat the crowd out of the gate' (as we have done some many times when we were riding with the guy who made all the decisions for us.)
I had committed/agreed to be there to work again on Saturday, so I knew I was getting up at 5:30, to be back at 6:30. So 2/3 of the trio got up before the crack of dawn, and returned to offer assistance again on the following morning. We kinda sorta created a job for ourselves, thinking anything is better than standing around for three hours, feeling useless. Most of the balloon crews were setting up, filling envelopes and tying off baskets to vehicles to offer the public an opportunity for tethered rides: go up a hundred feet in a hot air balloon and gently come back to earth for $10. The basket is only about five feet square, so with the pilot and propane tank, there is only room for two adults and a couple of children. The man we had offered to help gave me a quick ride, up-and- down, so I can say, like all those other hundreds of people who showed up, and plunked down their cash, that I've been for a ride in a hot air balloon.
When you think about the cost involved, I doubt they made any money, but think, that like many other things people get started on as an amusing hobby that they probably don't do it expecting to support the cost of the endeavor. And can see how you could get 'hooked' on it. Probably not any more expensive than something like owning a boat and fishing a lot, or having a big RV sitting in your yard when you are not out exploring.
I think there was an option in the late afternoon for people to actually go someplace: for $175 per person. You won't have any idea where you might land, or how long you might be gone, or when you might return. I guess that is the Joy of Ballooning? It was pretty, beautiful to just see them all inflated, and interesting to hear the crews talk about their experiences traveling all over to weekend events, most of which attract dozens if not hundreds of ballonists.
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