Sunday, October 13, 2013

Wecks after the Balloon Farewell Ascension

We rose at 4:30 am this morning to make it out to Balloon Fiesta Park for the dawn patrol launch at 5:45 am. The plan was to watch the balloons for a couple hours and then go back to the room and sleep for a few more hours. Due to chill in the air before the sun warmed us up, and knowing I was going back to nap later, I wanted to have something warm to drink (46 degrees out), but no caffeine. Thankfully, we found a food vendor who had hot chocolate! Walking out onto the launching area, it was a sight to see these 8 balloons fill up with air at the same time, glow a couple times ceremoniously, and then lift off one by one before the sun rose. Brought a tear to my eye! They rose and glowed for us again and then flew around for all to see.

Walking around the grounds, we watched for a couple hours as hundreds of balloons lifted off into the predawn sky as the sun rose over the mountains. An experience I will never forget. The air was still chilly and hot chocolate was long gone, so we left the park and headed for breakfast - starved!

The Hubby (my restaurant finding genius) found a restaurant close by (Weck's) to have breakfast and for a Sunday morning at 9am, a 30 minute wait seemed just fine. The food must be worth it I thought. We waited inside and as usual I watched the staff work. One manager was at the hostess stand and one was in the dining room and from what I saw, this place had communication down to a science. They sat people within the quoted time, food still came out quickly, and as we enjoyed our HUGE pancakes, our server took amazing care of us. Tables were turned within 2 minutes and the dining room manager was one of the best I have seen in a while.

This place is so staying on the list of where to have breakfast/lunch while in Albuquerque for the next time we come to the balloon fiesta - which is hopefully next year!

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