The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Attending the Balloon Fiesta has been on my bucket list FOREVER. I was so excited to finally attend when the opportunity presented itself this year.

Saturday

We purchased the Gondola Club tickets for both the morning and evening sessions and felt it was well worth the price. The tickets included a special parking lot with shuttle service to Fiesta park, entrance to a private area away from the crowds with plenty of seating, private bathrooms, open bar, band, and catered buffet meals (breakfast in the morning and dinner in the evening). Plus, there were snacks like nuts, fruit, chips and salsa, icecream, cookies, coffee, hot chocolate, soda, and water.

For the morning session, we left our hotel at 5:00am which gave us plenty of time to get to the park and settle in just in time for Dawn Patrol at 6:00am. This is where about a dozen balloons inflate and ascend to check wind speeds and direction before all the other balloons go up.

Mass Ascension occurred from about 7:00am to 9:00am and was a flurry of activity all over the field. During this entire time, 500-600 balloons were all in various stages of being unrolled, inflated, and launched. The excitement was incredible and each balloon launch garnered loud eruptions of cheering and clapping from the crowd. No matter where we turned to look, there were balloons in all different shapes and patterns continuously going up all around us.

This trio of bumblebees was my favorite and it seemed like we waited forever before they finally went up.

The actual event surpassed any expectations that I had. It was absolutely incredible! There was definitely sensory overload and by the time it was over, we were exhausted. It felt like it was noon but when Eric checked his watch, it was only 9:15am.

Walking back to the car, we saw balloons over the city that would be landing where they could...parks, back yards, etc.

After leaving Fiesta park, since it was still so early, we decided that 2nd breakfast was in order. We stopped at Rudy's BBQ for the most awesome breakfast tacos before heading back to the hotel for much needed naps.

The evening session should have started at 6:00pm with the Night Magic Glow. Balloons don't ascend at night but are tethered and illuminated by their burners. They look like giant glowing Christmas ornaments. Unfortunately, since it was windy, they couldn't inflate due to the danger of catching their balloon fabric on fire. Instead, they did a Firefly Burn where they all lit their burners at the same time sans balloons.

While it was a little disappointing, it was still neat to watch. Plus, the atmosphere in the Gondola Club made for a great night with delicious food, flowing drinks, and a band that kept us entertained until the evening ended with a beautiful fireworks display.

Sunday

We really lucked out with the weather yesterday because if winds are higher than 8 mph then the balloons can't go up. That's exactly what happened this morning when the Farewell Mass Ascension was cancelled due to the winds. Some advice for the balloon fiesta would be to give yourself a couple of days in the city as a back-up in case the session you want to attend is cancelled due to weather.

With all the balloon festivities behind us, today was a free day to explore the city.

For him:

We went to the Unser Racing Museum. This is a really great museum showcasing the Unser family racing legacy. It was very well organized with friendly and knowledgeable docents. It is spread across two buildings and the second one houses both race cars and antique cars as well as the trophy room. The trophy room alone was mind boggling.

Eric with his favorite car.

I loved the antique car side and each car was being "driven" by a stuffed animal or doll which was cute.

Just for fun.

Lunch was at Sadie's for our last great New Mexican meal. I started with the pomegranate margarita and we munched on chips and their legendary salsa. It was easy to tell who all the out-of-towners were because we were all sniffling from the heat in the food.

Eric and I both had some variation of the "small" combination plate special. Eric had tamales and a taco and I had the carne adovada and chile relleno. The plates came smothered with red or green chiles, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cheese with sides of potatoes and beans. There was so much food that I don't think I even finished a quarter of it.

We finished off the meal with soft, pillowy sopaipillas drizzled in honey.

For her:

We went to the Casa Rondena Winery. I haven't made it to Italy yet, but stepping out of the car, I felt like we were transported to the Tuscan countryside. The grounds were beautiful. We tried a few samples in the tasting room before buying a bottle to enjoy out back in the serene courtyard. There was a musician playing with groups of friends hanging out and enjoying the day.

It was the perfect ending to our time in New Mexico.