This past weekend, the Bunker family attended the Cambridge Balloon Festival. Bunker Monkey loved last year’s festival so much that we decided we would try to make it an annual thing. So on Friday, we packed up the family and headed north to Cambridge, NY. The original plan had been to make it a weekend trip and camp at the same campground we were at last year, but unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans and decided to bring us some nasty thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday. Fortunately, the festival actually starts Friday evening, and the weather forecast was for gorgeous weather all day, so off we went Friday afternoon.
We started by picking up the Monkey at school at 3pm, which is a half hour earlier than when he usually gets out, so you can imagine how happy he was to see us. Bunker Monkey’s favorite aunt (because yes, he does play favorites) and uncle were going with us, so that added to the fun factor for him. On the way, we stopped at a diner called The Olde Firehouse Tavern in Hoosick Falls and had an early dinner. The kid got to play with all sorts of firehouse-related toys while we waited (the food was quite good, but it’s the first restaurant I’ve been to with a supply of kids’ toys, so on that basis alone I’d recommend stopping there if you’re ever in the neighborhood).
We got to Cambridge at about 5pm, and spent the next couple hours riding the carnival rides they had there. Bunker Monkey conned me into riding this with him:
It didn’t flip you upside down, but basically had you falling or rising at 90 degree angles to the ground as you went around in a circle. I love roller coasters, but this ride was most definitely Not Fun. The kid, though? You might not be able to tell in that last picture, but he LOVED IT. He actually went on it once without me (while I was at the nearby Rite Aid trying to find a pair of sunglasses so I didn’t wind up with the eye wrinkles of an 89-year old from all the squinting).
We were only able to tear him away from the amusement rides by showing him that look! The ballons are gettig blown up! And it’s your FAVORITE BALLOON EVER, PINWHEEL! WOO!
Below are some pictures of the balloons as they’re in the process of being inflated (the giant black balloon with the pinwheel graphic on it is, of course, Pinwheel). DISCLAIMER: The day was very, very sunny, which as you know if you’ve ever tried to take pictures in bright light, makes for difficult photo-taking because of all the shadows. But I think some came out ok:
The balloons started taking off around 7pm; here were a few pics I got of them in flight:
The evening brought fireworks – we sat about 500 feet away, which allowed for some great views but also for some hearing loss. The Bunker Monkey loved the fireworks, but had to cover his ears because of the noise (note to self: Next year, bring earmuffs):
So that was our weekend. Add in a mad search for the official pin of the festival (which we finally snagged, thank you very much), some whining about not wanting to leave, and some interesting people-watching, and that was our weekend. We’ll definitely be going back next year!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m very impressed with not only the balloon pics, but your lovely fireworks pics. Those are hard to get – do you have a professional grade camera?
Hooray for such a fun outing!
Thanks
No, it’s just a little Sony Cybershot. It was doubly tough because the camera was doing a delay every time I pressed the button, due to the low light. So I had to get the timing just right. Thanks – I’m happy you enjoyed em 