If it weren't for our weekend feature presentation at Lake Shawnee, I would have been very happy with a little fire at our private cove. But as it is, hot air balloons up close can't be missed at any age.
Can you see the awe on the girls' faces? When we arrived there were about half a dozen already up, and as the sky darkened, more than half a dozen others were inflated. I thought it was interesting to see how quickly they could be rolled out (of a big canvas bag in one case) and be made ready for take off.
I originally intended that we should get one of the tethered rides, but we made the mistake of stopping to get some slushie drinks. Not all the balloons were intending to give rides, and those that were had ridiculously long lines as you might be able to see in the video. We weighed the long wait (and mounting crankiness) against the brief joy of being up in a balloon and we didn't think the girls could handle it. So Drew contented himself with taking video after video, which I'll spare you. (Admittedly, the glow effect was really neat to see.) As we were walking back to the car, BB could be heard to say, "I want to go camping now." By the time we reached our campsite, it was pitch black and too late to start a fire, so there was nothing for it but to go to sleep.
Since we didn't have anywhere to be but home, we had a leisurely breakfast while enjoying the scenery, watching the birds (pelicans? seagulls), and playing. Here, the girls are refusing to turn around and have their picture taken.
This is a view of our solitude: our lone car next to the potty. To the right is a whole field of other (unoccupied) campsites, and there are more to the left and back, across the road, away from the water but more treed. The one thing I did not like about this campsite was the absence of a water spigot. We brought only one gallon with us, so it got that my hands were feeling pretty gross, despite hand sanitizer.
Once on the road, we decided to stop in Lawrence, home to Kansas Univ, and have an early lunch at Free State Brewery, which is one of those happenin' little places that I'm convinced can only thrive in a college town.Finally of note: as we were entering into the KC metro area via the toll road (yes, there are toll roads in Kansas), we saw a cop radaring vehicles coming into the toll station. Could you imagine getting a ticket after paying your toll? I've heard tell and seen for myself on numerous occasions, how aggressively they ticket in Kansas, no mercy. Undoubtedly, they're worse than in Missouri, and they're pretty bad in Missouri.
Anyway home sweet home and all that, another successful camping trip under our belts. Where to next?
