More surprises

The morning of my last post, I took this photo.

From one of these.

As if a surprise trip to Boston and New York wasn't enough, Bill arranged for us to take a hot air balloon ride. Of course, it helped that our friends took us for free.

Jonathan Blackburn runs a hot air balloon company and took us up early Wednesday morning. The take off was quite exciting as it was a little bit breezy, Jon made sure that the air in the balloon was good and hot before we took off and when we did we went up fast. Much faster than an airplane, I felt like I had my head down for a moment and then I looked up and...



this is what I saw.
I found riding in a hot air balloon simultaneously thrilling and peaceful. It was exciting because you are up so high and without the protection of the steel cage of an airplane. Instead you float in nothing more than a wicker basket. You feel like you can touch the birds flying by. At one point Bill reached out and grabbed a tree branch.

We had a great ride, the fall colors were at their peak and it was fun to watch people come out of their houses to get a better look at the balloon. Dogs barked, kids on the school bus waved. When we finally landed a small crowd had gathered to greet us. I felt like a minor celebrity. Before this trip I didn't realize that you can't steer a hot air balloon. You can just go up and down. If you are not in a good place to land you wait until the wind takes you to a better one. Not only is it a lovely ride, but a useful philosophy for life.

I am jealous of myself

What am I doing in Time's Square? That's what I keep asking myself. Just a few days ago I was expecting just another week of laundry and dishes and nagging children about homework. Wednesday night Bill told me that we were flying to Boston Friday morning and we'd be traveling for 9 days. The rest of the trip was a secret. I had a few moments of shock and I worried that I couldn't really leave my kids and primary but I soon adjusted to the idea and realized everyone would be just fine without me.


After flying into Boston and spending the night in Providence we drove to New York City and had a great time visiting with my old friend Marin. Some of the highlights were:

Boating in Central Park

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge

and--Bill's favorite--the American Girl Store.

Monday night we drove to Albany to visit more old friends Chame and Jonathan Blackburn.

We got our kid fix with the Blackburns. They have almost a matching family to ours. Two girls, two boys all practically the same age. We also got to see something we never see in San Diego:

Fall

Bill planned this trip nearly a year ago. He arranged babysitting (thank you so much Lara and Tauna), booked flights, and secretly contacted old friends. He is usually your typical not-so-romantic husband (this year he completely blew off Valentine's), which makes all of this an even greater surprise. And there are still three more days of surprises. I don't even know where I'm going today. I'll keep you posted. --Ruth

P.S. John, I took this picture of a cannon at Sarotoga just for you. Mom