No, It really was!
First off it was a different race. Centrailia IL. Due east of St Louis
about an hour or so. Just off the main highway a bit.
Left the shop about 0930 and headed up 63 to 70 toward St. L. On the way
Ellen called to inform me that gas was only 2.69 in the City so I may want to
fill up there. Take 40 to 64 to get across the river into IL.Since I go to St. L
only a couple of times a decade I wasn';t sure where it actually starteed. Went
through Chesterfield and there seemed to be nothing but city so I assumed I was
there. Saw an exit with a cheery sounding name and headed off in search of cheap
gas. Fortunately, the street I choose was obviously the street of Kings! Big
fancy houses with gates and big manicured yards Very Posh! UN fortunately the
rich folks up here apparently don't use gasoline (Petrol for David). Turned east
since that was where I was supposed to be going anyway and after a dozen blocks
and instructions from a friendly policeman I found a 7/11 with gas for 2.79 and
coffee for .95. Nice venture but adding the coffee and the miles driven
searching for cheap gas I probably averaged about 3.25 per gallon.
Got back onto 64 east again only to discover that the closer I got to town
the worse the traffic got. I just camped in a middle lane and followed the signs
that pointed toward IL!
Now, Ive been thru IL a number of times but mostly on interstates.
Ellen knew I liked backroads so she suggested taking 64 to the 27 mile marker
and 161 east into Centrailia. Good idead Ellen! No matter what road you take in
IL you are gonna see a lot of flat. This road, however made flat a little more
interesting! 2 lane with corn, soybeans and sorghum lining the road within a few
feet of the highway. Every now and then there would be a break in the corn
exposing a farm house or small settlement of German immagrants. Musta been
german cause they all advertised Brats! Finnally got to Centrailia and in my
search for the hotel got to explore a bit of the town. Nice Town! The sign says
14200 and I assumed that was the population as opposed to longitude and
lattitude. Maybe imagine Fulton MO with no hills but just as cute. Finally
discovered that I had driven past the hotel 3 or 4 times in my explorations and
figured I should stop and register. Then I was going to look up my crew and see
their establishment! DeMoulins is the company that sews together all those band
uniforms you see marching in parades and on football fields! Now that is a cool
sponsor!
Followed the instructions given me by the hotel person only to find that
she didn't know they had moved. Maybe I'll get to see it next year!
Anyway, about that crew.
First was Bernie. She was the one who originally called me a month or so
before the event to inform me that they were sponsoring me. Then there was
Patti, Theresa and Dolly. They all work at DeMoulins as seamstresses and
other duties too numerous to mention. Then, most fortunately for Dolly, her
husband Kin "volunteered " to drive the chase vehicle. Dolly had originally
offered to but no one told here there was a trailer involved. She did pull it
once just to make sure she could but backing never came into the picture.
Although they swear none had ever worked with a balloon prior to the "Crew
Practice" wedensday evening you would never have believed that if you saw them
set up for the glow saturday night! Like a well oiled machine!
Alas, despite the fact that we had a well oiled crew, we had no machine to
improve the weather. Got to take Bernie for a ride fri. night and had a great
landing by the sewer treatment plant. Unfortunately we got a good view of the
target but not colse enough to throw the baggie. FORTUNATELY No one else did
either! After the first flight we were tied for first!...with everybody! Took
the balloon back and set it up once again for the glow that evening. Now, you
experienced balloonists know what a job it is to set up twice in one evening
when you know what you are doing. This crew did it in the heat and in the dark!
Well oiled you bet!
Next mornings low ceilings and threatning rain made the balloon meister,
Bob Corry I think, unable to call a task so we headed to breakfast at The Corner
Stop. Yummy, if a little slow on the service. Of course there were about 20
pilots there getting their free breakfast so one would expect to wait a bit. I
still give them high marks!
The rest of the day found time for a nap, a trip back out to the park to
walk the Disc golf trail , a search for the blindfolded pilots golf
cart race and the cardboard canoe race neither of which I ever came across.
Oh yes, I forgot the task that replaced the morning flight. Our Pilot Packs
which contained all sorts of goodies came in a little knapsack sorta bag. Our
assignment for the morning task was to take that bag and the two clothespins
that the balloonmeister provided and use our imaginations to come up with
something constructive/ useful/humorous or all of the above and bring it to the
park where they would be judged by the applause factor. The winner was to
reciece a bottle of Champagne. We stuffed ours full of a down blanket that rides
in the back of the suburban, snipped the tail off the end af a yellow
baggie to fold and pin in place for a beak, stuffed the baggie inside with the
blanket leaving the remainder hanging out for a tail, sketched some eyes on the
front, pinned the clothspins in place for ears and created a Fred Bird for the
sake of Dolly and Kin who are Cardinals fans. Apparently, they were the only
ones around because we did not win. We did get vigourous applause but not enough
to register on the meter.
The evening was dedicated to a glow with no flight scheduled. They said we
could fly if we wanted but that we HAD to be back for the glow. I asked the crew
if they wanted to do a rerun of last night and they decided to stay on the
ground and glow. Just too much work filling it up twice in one night! The park
where we meet and were doing the glow is considerably different than most places
one would do a glow. Instead of a big open field it is a park with winding roads
venturing around a small lake (Catfish Lake). There are small openings in the
midst of large beautiful trees where you are assigned a spot to inflate your
balloon for the weekend. When you first see it you think "There's not room to
inflate here!" but somehow we got 40 plus balloons inflated around the lake! The
people just wander around taking pix and talking to the pilots and crews while
the announcer leads us in "All Burns" and "Twinkle Glows". I think that is the
most cards I have ever given away in a single evening. Great Fun!
Still tied for first we were hoping for perfect weather in the morning so
we could surprise everyone and leap out into the lead but alas the rain gods
must have been waiting for a balloon event to mess up. The bad news? We only got
off one flight this weekend. The good news? We tied for first!
Had the awards brunch at the Elks Lodge next door to the hotel. For you MO
and IA pilots, just imagine the Brookfield awards brunch with maybe a little
better food. Same thank You speech, same table arrangements etc. The only things
different were the Police officer that came in to arrest one of the committee
members for posesion of a controlled substance and the fact that the balloon
miester re-married the director of the event to her husband since she hadn't
been home for the last 12 months while planning the event.
Even thoug we didn't fly much it was still a very entertaining weekend. I
enjoyed Bob's rough edged way of running a race with a little humor when needed.
It was fun to meet some IL pilots who are afraid to cross the river to fly
against real pilots out west. They are welcome any time! Bring some rain with
you though!
Said goodbys and headed back west. Stayed the course all the way back
through St. L but when I saw th Hwy 94 sign I just couldn't pass it up. Not the
easiest route when you are pulling a trailer but not bad if you don't get in a
hurry. Lots of cute little towns and pretty scenery all along the route. Lots of
motorcycles too. You do have to watch for joggers, hikers and bikes along the
route since the Katy Trail crosses the road numerous times. Missed every one of
them! Oh well, there's always next year!
With Lots of Love from the balloon trail!
Herb
PS: Dolly, if you get this can you send or give it to the others. I don't
have their email.