Surprise!

HELLOOOO!  Anyone out there remember me?  I’ve been gone from the blogging world for a while (almost a year) and I almost can’t remember how to do this anymore.   I’m not even sure what inspired me to start this post.  (Maybe it is a strategy for avoiding folding laundry, which is my current task at hand).  Who knows?  Maybe you have all moved on from blogging and this is just going to that great-unknown-vast-empty-space where random, useless things go.  At any rate, I will give a brief update on what has been going on in my little world.

I am entering my second year of retirement and I can honestly say that I enjoy being  more in control of my time.  That doesn’t mean life isn’t busy, but it is busy with things I choose to do.  My husband and I spend a lot of time with our family and we are involved in serving in our church.  We even manage to escape once in a while and have some fun.  In June we drove to southern Utah to a little mountain valley town called Panquitch, to attend a hot air balloon festival.  We weren’t sure what to expect, but we got up early in the morning and followed the crowd to a big field on the outskirts of town.  We hiked through some dewy alfalfa fields and picked out a spot near the fence to watch the balloons take flight.  It soon became apparent that the spectators were moving about and mingling with the balloon crew as they got things set up.  We were so close we could touch the balloons!  It was fun watching the process as they started to rise up in the morning sky.

We attempted to take some selfies, but couldn’t see with the bright sun, so they are a little goofy.  We had a wonderful pancake breakfast in the town square and spent the rest of the day off exploring Bryce Canyon, Payson Lake, and Cedar Breaks National Monument. 

Maybe I will share pictures from the parks later.  That evening there was a huge street festival, with food and music.   Normally the street would be lined with the glowing balloons, but it was a little windy and they couldn’t put up the balloons.  They had the hot air shooting up, but I was a bit disappointed.  I guess we just need to come again. 

I’m pretty sure this will go down as one of my favorite days ever, and yes, people in small towns are indeed some of the most friendly and kind people you will ever meet! 

Have you had some close to home fun vacations?  We look forward to discovering more about our own state.

JoAnn