I went alone to Forest Park to see the launch of the balloons, and it was a trip well worth it, to see these colourful globes rising serenely and majestically into the cloudy,overcast, intermittently rainy sky. I’d been afraid that the wind would cross the 10-miles-an-hour limit beyond which the launch would be aborted, but it didn’t happen….

here

is an account of the race by the St.Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper.

Here are a few balloons:

There was face-painting: One more: and there was all the different kinds of food: another one: Everywhere balloons were being inflated: Some balloons were not to carry passengers! Children had balloons in other shapes, too, here's SpongeBob SquarePants: It was a great time for photographers: And cyclists: Some people, were, of course, on the job, and alert: For a change, a Pepsi can was full of hot gas and not cold liquid: It was funny watching it float past the Port-A-Potty line (mobile toilets!): The Energizer Bunny and the Birthday Cake never got off the ground: And ironically, American Airlines were firmly fixed to the ground, too! :) (I would probably be the only one to go to a Balloon Race and take a video of the food stalls!) A 180 degree view of the balloons, a few rising, and some already well away: Here are several others: This one was sponsored by Snapfish, which is a kind of cheese biscuit: This one had the ship "Mayflower" on it: Of course the "American" balloon was there, too: Here are three rising together: I caught this one as it went directly overhead:

As I left the field, I saw the lovely sight of this little girl and her dog, amusing themselves:

A very enjoyable afternoon…..I have never seen such crowds in Forest Park, and what fun it was to walk back past the cars jammed into loooong lines, on the way home!