For all intents and purposes, I am a proud Portlander and proud to brag about my beloved city whenever I am Somewhere Else, and especially when the people in that Somewhere Else have been fooled by American media into believing that the city of Portland is some super-scary liberal madhouse where the houseless and psychotic protestors run the city and put us all in danger. (example: my recent trip back to my hometown in Idaho. Multiple people told me wide-eyed that they would not visit Portland anytime soon, given “what is going on there,” and they would “wait till things settle down” before even considering it. Oh, good grief. It’s 99% political hype designed to make conservatives hate liberals more. So annoying.) Whatever you have heard, Portland is really a beautiful, safe, and wonderful city to live, as cities go.
I’ve considered myself a Portlander since I moved to this area in 2007. But for people who actually live in Portland, and know the area, I can be more precise. Pedro and I actually live in Tigard.
We are actively trying to get to know our new town, and that recently included a balloon festival. It’s only a 10-minute drive from the house, and tickets were affordable. So, why not?
We set our alarms for Too Damned Early, and diligently got up and showered and made coffee for our travel mugs and off we went. We walked around, getting a sense of the event, and viewing balloons from different angles. We waited until most of them were in the sky before we left.
We left the main launch area, and walked over to the vendors and rides area, which was not really going yet. I mean, who wants to get on the Spinning Teacups at 9:15 am? Not us. Only one food vendor was open, selling coffee and pastry, and the line was about 50 people long. So we hopped into our car and drove to a local French restaurant and ordered coffee and pastries.
And then we went home and went back to sleep until noon!
Conscious Engagement 
Hot air balloons are just fun, Crystal. Fun to watch and fun to ride in, even if they are TDE (Liked the time reference… I may use it.) I’ve only been up once. Peggy and I celebrated one of her birthdays taking a balloon ride over the Napa Valley in California.
Agree totally with you comments on Portland. Heck we even mention we lived in Oregon and people get off on Portland. I always do what I can to counter their comments.
You are so right, Curt. They are just fun. And beautiful, and such a peaceful ride. I have been in several balloons. I even bungee jumped out of one over Colorado Springs, ha ha. My favourite balloon ride was during a balloon festival like this one. When there are a dozen balloons on all sides, it’s an even more special ride. I’m glad you know what it’s like to be in a balloon.
Thanks for doing what you can to give your input on Portland. I do that, too. I want people to have an example of how media can brainwash them, and they need to employ more critical thinking. I doubt I’ve ever changed a mind, but maybe I planted a seed.
I’ve always thought it would be fun to go to one of the big balloon fests such as the one in Albuquerque.
Sadly, the media, unfortunately, is a profit driven business. A lot more folks will watch/read about a Portland (translate anywhere) riot than the reality. I learned that’ll early on when I was a student at Berkeley in the mid 60s and was involved in the free speech movement. (I later learned that the FBI was paying a reporter at the San Francisco Examiner to write false stories about what was happening.)
Oh right, I had forgotten that you had a really good look at how media can skew a story, when the crazies at Berkeley were a target everyone wanted to aim for. I wish I could say we were learning from past mistakes.
“I wish I could say we were learning from past mistakes.” When has humanity ever done that… Sigh.
I’ve been to several ballo
I’m glad you’ve seen balloons like this, Vicki, because it’s such a unique experience! I’ve only been to one other festival, and that was in Colorado Springs. It was much bigger than the Tigard festival.
Ideal day out, well maybe getting up at Stupid O’clock wasn’t, but the idea was so good. Early rise, a bit of fun, some good food elsewhere (good idea) and home for a sleep. Ideal day out 🥰
“Stupid o’clock!” ha ha, good one. Yes, it was a pretty neat way to spend a couple hours, and then go back home for a nap.
A fine photographic record worth getting up for
I agree with you. Some things are worth setting the alarm for. 🙂
These are spectacular! There used to be a small hot-air balloon festival in the town I grew up in and live next to now. It was wonderful. The balloons were spread out over a 9 hole golf course down in the valley. But times change and that golf course is now a high-rise of over-priced apartments. Sigh. Loved seeing this! Also, nice plug for Portland. You are spot-on with how the media changes the spirit of a place. Such a shame.
I’ll bet a balloon festival on a golf course would be so pretty. I am sad that it’s now high-rises instead of green space, but I’m also happy that the people in those high rises have a place to live during our country’s housing shortage. I guess we have to take the bad with the good. I’m pretty sure that if we had plenty of housing, those overpriced places would be forced to reduce their prices.
Yes, I’m so sad about Portland’s bad reputation. It’s famous for being a dangerous city now. People quote, “Little Beirut” at me, and that was a George Bush quote! It has been revived by the dorks on conservative talk radio. I called customer service in a little town in Texas to get help with my automatic chicken door, and the super nice guy helping me asked where I was calling from. When I told him Portland, he reacted immediately, talking about vigilantes in control of the town and forcing us all to be trapped inside our homes. I said I did not know what he was talking about, and he said he knew exactly what was happening here because he heard it on the news. “I don’t know what part of town you live in,” he said, “But I know it’s dangerous. So you be careful.”
I love your description of “a bouquet of balloons.” There is something childlike and magical about spending time around them, don’t you think? Sounds like a perfect day out to me, who loves those early mornings when there are still stars in the sky and the horizon starts to indicate the coming of a new day.
I agree that being with the balloons in the still of morning and the promise of dawn that is magical and the unrestrained delight I feel is childlike. Being startled by the dragon roar of the furnaces belching fire into the balloons, to fill them up, adds to the childlike experience. It’s like right out of a fantasy story like The Twenty One Balloons, that I loved as a child.
My days have adjusted, being with Pedro. He likes to stay up late, till 10 and often till 11. I am a person who really does need a full eight hours of sleep and nine hours if possible. So…that causes me to sleep in. I definitely prefer mornings and I am so worthless in the evening. But just this last weekend, Pedro was talking about how a difficult shift for him when we moved in together was not getting up early like he used to. So that means both of us like getting up early! I think we will both be able to shift back to early mornings, since it turns out that both of us prefer that.
That is amazing. I’ve never seen balloons actually. Not even a single one.
I am all astonishment! Oh, you will have such a treat the day you do see one. They are such a delight.
They look great on pictures or film.