No Balloon Ride, But…

August 23, 2008

in emonome, Video

…stuff happened along the way.

That’s the Big Man’s way of saying, “Save your money, kid” because as soon as I stood in line a guy walks over and tells everyone, “Ride’s not gonna happen tonight, hate to tell you this. There are too many people ahead of you.”

Balloonistas

“What if we come tomorrow morning…early early?” someone asked.

“If you come really really early…the wait would be 8 hours.”

Fuck that. I walked away. Once I got closer, however, the ride didn’t look like fun at all. The balloon is tethered and just goes straight up about 300 feet or so and before you know it, it comes back down.

I decided then and there that I’d take a real balloon ride someday.

The evening didn’t go to waste, however.

First, let’s meet Simon.

New York Minute: Simon, The Contortionist.emonome on .

Want hugs? It’s free!
Free Hugs

As if to tease me, something else named ‘Aero…”
Aeromax

What is this shirt trying to say, really?
Obama Shirt

Wilson in Between
Wilson in Between

Stressed out from receiving free hugs?
Massage in Central Park

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Micky August 23, 2008 at 3:38 am

Oh well, not too worry. Free hugs! Wonder how many he got?

Dee August 23, 2008 at 8:45 am

What happened along the way seem to be much more fun than the balloon ride!

Julie August 23, 2008 at 12:31 pm

So many things are like that balloon ride. You wait forever. It’s anti-climactic. And then you feel let down and pissed.
Glad you found other goodies!

Emon August 23, 2008 at 11:55 pm

Micky: He gave out one free hug while I was there.

Dee: That’s my new mantra: set a destination and document the journey. Whether I get to that place or not, I make memories along the way.

Julie: I will seek out the major league balloon fests and ride one.

Joe September 9, 2008 at 10:02 am

I’m betting the “free hugs” guy has some self-esteem issues.

Oh, and on the hot air balloon ride – try to get out of the city for one. You could probably find one that would last all morning, and then truck you back to your launch spot. They say your first ride costs $50, and your next ride costs $10,000 though, although I don’t imagine many people are buying these just because of the storage issue.

Emon September 9, 2008 at 10:55 am

I think the ‘free hugs’ thing is an art project. I say that because the guy kept walking over to a group of people in different corners. I don’t know, maybe they were filming too.

I did check a few balloon rides out of town. At a minimum, the rides cost $250 for an hour-long ride. But…I will take one of those definitely.

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