Today, Sara and I had a chance to participate in the San Diego Big Bay Balloon Parade. The day started at 6:00 AM when we arrived at 'Balloon HQ'. Here, we got assigned to our balloon - The White Star - and put on our uniforms (which were USA t-shirts). After taking a quick lesson in 'Balloon Holding 101', we were able to walk around and see the other balloons as they were being inflated. Sara and I also had a chance to meet with a ton of great people, as well.
Just before 10:00 AM, we were all given the word to line up and prepare for the start of the parade. As luck would have it, 10 AM was also when the wind started to pick up! Perhaps the biggest lesson I learned was that carrying a big balloon is NOT as easy as they make it look on television! Especially when it's windy! It's as if you are holding onto the leash of a very, very bad dog who just keeps going every which way. It was SUPER hard. Below is a video I took during the parade:
The parade was an experience, to say the least, but one that I am glad I was a part of. I can now say I have carried a balloon in a parade, and I can cross it off the bucket list.
After the parade, Sara and I traveled to La Jolla, California (just outside of San Diego) to explore all the tourist traps they had to offer. Perhaps the coolest point of the journey was visiting the 'Man Cave', as I called it. It was a cave...that, well...looked like a man!
See? Kinda cool, eh? The hike TO the cave (and back!) was a long one, but well worth it for some awesome pictures :)
Overall, it was a very nice and enjoyable trip to San Diego. There's something weirdly calm, refreshing, and relaxing about San Diego, and I look forward to visiting again soon.