The United States of an African

Originally posted June 2019.

Back in the peach state again!!! Georgia has a lot more to offer than the city of Atlanta especially for those who love to explore nature. You’ve got the beaches by the Atlantic ocean to the east, mountains to the north, caves, waterfalls, rivers, lakes etc.

The last time I went to Helen, an old Bavarian town two hours from metro Atlanta, I chased waterfalls and tubed up the Chattanooga river. This time around I visited with the intent to ride a hot air balloon during the hot air balloon festival. The traffic entering the town center was ridiculous. The Georgia summer heat held nothing back. The air was filled with the smell of sweets, and the sounds revving engines from motorcyclists attending a bikers convention. For lunch my family and I stopped at Two Tire Tavern for German sausages and one of the local ice cream shops for dessert. And then we began our God knows how many miles trek looking for the festival grounds.

I’ve always been fascinated with hot air balloons; particularly how they navigate the sky. This was my first time being up close to a hot air balloon and I gotta say, I was quite blown away (PUN INTENDED). As I saw two balloons take off into the sky my eagerness to ride elevated (PUN INTENDED).

Alas, we were distracted by the need to document everything we spent way too much time trying to get pictures (I’m beyond disappointed with myself for this). By the time we decided to line up to ride it was pretty much too late in the evening.  Thankfully American skies are full of balloons during summer. I’ll make another attempt at another festival.