Seen In A Nearby Place

The winds have welcomed you with softness,The sun has greeted you with it’s warm hands,You have flown so high and well,

That God has joined you in laughter,    

And set you back gently into     The loving arms of the earth below.

— Anonymous, known as 'The Balloonist's Prayer,' believed to have been adapted from an old Irish sailors' prayer.

The morning we left for vacation – just minutes after we left home – we saw several hot air balloons high overhead.  It didn’t take us long to realize they were descending and it appeared they were going to land in a nearby field beside a business we would soon pass.  I have dreamed of taking a hot air balloon ride some day – and I intend to do it one of these days.  Perhaps next Spring or Summer.  As we turned to pass the area where the balloons would soon land my sweetheart (and he is a sweetheart!) pulled over to the side of the road so I could get out of the truck and capture it all with my camera.  I loved every minute of it – the sights of the big balloons.  The sounds of the hot air being released to keep the balloons afloat.  The voices of the people riding, floating, in the baskets. And those on the earth below.  My heart longed to stay but I knew it was time to be on our way, headed out of town.  To the lake.  For a long-awaited vacation.  Oh, how I wished I climb on-board and fly away!  One of these days I will.  And you will know it’s me up there.  I’ll be the one with the camera.  And the big smile on my face!  Be sure to wave!!

The balloon seems to stand still in the air
while the earth flies past underneath.
— Alberto Santos-Dumont.