An Evening Over the Bay and a Balloon Fiesta

A late September evening, looking out over the Bay Area as the lights started to come on. There's a particular kind of quiet that settles in at dusk, with the fog just sitting on the horizon. A pretty standard view for this time of year.

A couple of weeks later, I was somewhere else entirely for the annual hot air balloon fiesta. We got there for an early morning launch. The first few balloons went up against a perfectly clear blue sky, just drifting along.

Then came the main event. Hundreds of them filling the sky at once, including all the special character shapes. It's a strange thing to see a giant pair of bees, a rabbit, a turtle, and a train all floating together. You stand on the ground and just watch this slow, colorful, and completely silent parade float by above you.