Lost in Balloonland
And I mean this literally.
I took my son to the Great Forest Park Balloon Race's "Glow" in the park last night. We took Ron and Pam with us, since this was like a late present for my son's birthday, and the fact that there would be some great photo ops.
Well, the plans were good, but the execution was disastrous. To start with, they do not have anywhere near enough parking to cover the crowd of what I am guessing was 60-70 thousand people. Now I could be off by a bit, but we entered the park around 6 pm and I dropped Ron, Pam and Aden near the Jewel Box, relatively close to the 'glow', so they would not have to wait to find a spot to park, or would not have to walk as far. HUGE mistake.
I drove through the park at an average speed of 0.1 miles per hour (that is on the generous side, i promise) and circled one parking area inside over 3 times. There was no way out, Once you were inside, you were stuck moving one direction. I finally decided to cut through the grass in one spot to get outta there. Finally at around 7 pm I pulled back out of the park onto a major road. I drove one and a half miles in the next 33 minutes to find a parking spot over a mile away from the event (Barnes Jewish Hospital - South Garage Entrance).
I walked to the glow, where massive crowds had gathered, trying to find the rest of my party. After much wandering, and not much picture taking, I went up the the Jewel Box area where I had dropped them off. No luck.
So back to the balloon glow. Now, if you have never been to one of these, after dark the only time you can really see anything is when this siren goes off, and all the balloons just the hot flames into the balloons to light them up. Once that is done, everything is impossible to see. It is like being in a bright room and shutting off the lights. Still no luck.
So as they start to deflate the balloons, I headed back to the Jewel Box. (Guy thing says "go back to where you dropped them" and this time it paid off. I finally spotted my friends and my son. We made the mile and a half walk back to the car and left. My son said he had a good time, I just regret that I was not able to spend it with him. I had almost reached the point of panic when I found them.
I know he was in good hands, but their transportation was me. If you ever decide to attend an event like this, just do me a favor and make sure you plan much better than I did, and make sure you have a contingency plan in case things go awry.
Happy Balloon Glow.
Lost in Balloonland
And I mean this literally.
I took my son to the Great Forest Park Balloon Race's "Glow" in the park last night. We took Ron and Pam with us, since this was like a late present for my son's birthday, and the fact that there would be some great photo ops.
Well, the plans were good, but the execution was disastrous. To start with, they do not have anywhere near enough parking to cover the crowd of what I am guessing was 60-70 thousand people. Now I could be off by a bit, but we entered the park around 6 pm and I dropped Ron, Pam and Aden near the Jewel Box, relatively close to the 'glow', so they would not have to wait to find a spot to park, or would not have to walk as far. HUGE mistake.
I drove through the park at an average speed of 0.1 miles per hour (that is on the generous side, i promise) and circled one parking area inside over 3 times. There was no way out, Once you were inside, you were stuck moving one direction. I finally decided to cut through the grass in one spot to get outta there. Finally at around 7 pm I pulled back out of the park onto a major road. I drove one and a half miles in the next 33 minutes to find a parking spot over a mile away from the event (Barnes Jewish Hospital - South Garage Entrance).
I walked to the glow, where massive crowds had gathered, trying to find the rest of my party. After much wandering, and not much picture taking, I went up the the Jewel Box area where I had dropped them off. No luck.
So back to the balloon glow. Now, if you have never been to one of these, after dark the only time you can really see anything is when this siren goes off, and all the balloons just the hot flames into the balloons to light them up. Once that is done, everything is impossible to see. It is like being in a bright room and shutting off the lights. Still no luck.
So as they start to deflate the balloons, I headed back to the Jewel Box. (Guy thing says "go back to where you dropped them" and this time it paid off. I finally spotted my friends and my son. We made the mile and a half walk back to the car and left. My son said he had a good time, I just regret that I was not able to spend it with him. I had almost reached the point of panic when I found them.
I know he was in good hands, but their transportation was me. If you ever decide to attend an event like this, just do me a favor and make sure you plan much better than I did, and make sure you have a contingency plan in case things go awry.
Happy Balloon Glow.