ONE RELAY EXPERIENCE

I want to share some of my previous RELAY experiences with you as we approach the 2009 RELAY and one of my absolute favorite sights and experiences has to be the hot air balloons. As you can see in one of the pictures on the blog we were lucky enough to have them at our RELAY. For a small donation to the American Cancer Society you could go up in them, just a short distance, on what was called a tethered ride. (This means you were on a leash....sort of.) It was completely safe and well supervised by the balloon owners and their assistants. During the night there were no rides being offered, mostly due to visibility being poor, if I remember correctly, but the owners did light up the night sky with the colorful balloons. They were simply beautiful. I had wanted to go up, fear of heights and all, but was so busy at the Committee tent I never found the time on Friday. So first thing Saturday morning I took off across the track and headed for the balloons! When I got there I anxiously waited my turn and before you know it....it had arrived! I was assisted into the balloon along with two other passengers and the balloon operator and off we went. I looked over the side, well more like out...straight out...not down! I snapped picture after picture of the RELAY track and the early morning activities that were going on. The ride was fun and I wasn't as scared as I thought I'd be, maybe because I knew we were tethered and I was safe. Sometime after RELAY, when I downloaded my pictures there were none of the night pictures of the balloons or the pictures from up above RELAY. My battery must have gone dead and I was snapping away.....but no pictures. I know that this hasn't happened to any of you...right? The ride was a wonderful experience, a learning experience and one I'll never forget. To me the hot air balloons represent the cancer survivors because no matter who they are, the color of their skin, where they are from, day or night...they are beautiful. And whether or not I have a picture of them or not, I am so thankful for each day we have them here to take up the fight against cancer. Come to RELAY....Come to see and hear the sights and sounds....Come to help us take up the fight! You'll be glad you did.