Balloons At The Park

We decided to check out the Balloons At The Park yesterday at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe.  We arrived at sunset, just in time for the evening balloon glow, where all the inflated balloons are fired up to glow after dark.  The pilots seemed to have a bit of trouble synchronizing, but it was still pretty cool.  I think next year we might go earlier in the day and attempt to get a tethered ride since John has never had the pleasure.  I've been lucky enough to have lots of close encounters with hot air balloons, but this was John's first time at a festival.  I was hoping it would be a bit more eventful for him, but it sure beat sitting home on a Saturday night.

They were giving tethered balloon rides, but the line was dreadfully long, so we didn't even attempt it.

We always like going to fairs and outdoor festivals but most of the time we just end up walking around enjoying the colors, lights and wonderful smells of frying funnel cakes and various meats on sticks.  The balloon festival had an awesome booth of sparkly, light-up glowy things that made me smile even though I didn't buy anything.  

After the balloons were deflated we watched the fireworks display (which to be honest left a little to be desired).

We ended the evening with a couple of Uplifting Lemonades and listened to the classic rock stylings of Ready, Steady, Go.  I felt a little bad because there was a mass exodus after the fireworks and there really weren't many people left to watch the band.

I was happy to get a nice picture of the moon too!

I posted all these pics and a few others on Flickr if you'd like to see more.  Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, here's me kicking butt at Beatles Rock Band :)

Yes, this is actually how I spent my afternoon.

My friend Ken occasionally posts a “word of the day” on Facebook, and being a closet logophile I always enjoy it.  Sometimes I’m familiar with the words, but my favorites are the strange ones that are about as likely to come up in every day conversation as the Cubs winning the World Series (sorry guys, it had to be said).  Our band name is actually one of those strange words that came from a Yahoo word of the day I saw several years ago.

I just can’t commit to a daily word post, so here is a good sampling of some words that will probably never come up in your next dinner discussion, but are still pretty fun to have in your back pocket.  I dare you to start using some of these!  

absquatulate abscond: run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along

bibliobibuli those who read too much

crapulous given to, characterized by, or suffering from gross excess in eating and drinking

donnybrook a brawl or heated public dispute

eesome pleasing to the eye

floccinaucinihilipilification the categorizing of something as worthless

gallimaufry jumble or medley; hodgepodge

hornswoggle bamboozle, deceive

izzat honor, prestige, reputation

jugulate to slit the throat

katzenjammer a loud, discordant noise; also, a hangover; also, a state of depression or bewilderment

latrinalia graffiti found in restrooms

moonglade the bright reflection of the moon on a body of water

nothosonomia the act of calling someone a bastard

omphaloskepsis contemplation of one's navel

puckeroo useless, broken

quisquilious like rubbish; trashy, worthless

raconteur one skilled in telling stories

snollygoster a shrewd, unprincipled person

tintinnabulous of or relating to bells or the ringing of bells

ultra-crepidarian giving opinions or criticism beyond one's own range of experience

vicissitude a change of circumstances affecting one's life

widdershins counterclockwise; also, in a contrary direction

If you just can’t get enough of these, you can find more here and here.