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Up, up and (not) away
Sep. 13th, 2006 10:39 amI went up in the aeroballoon last night, to see the city from above. It's an excellent view, floating above the Common.
The basket is wicker, in a way that made me think of picnic baskets (...I become a giant sandwich over the city...). Luckily there was a little foot hole in one side, and a stepstool brought over, because otherwise getting in and out in a straight skirt would've been rather challenging. The balloon wasn't lit up for our ride, but had been earlier, looking like an absurdly large moon (though with an advertising banner on it, so more like the moon after marketing people have gotten to it). It was rather startling to see the balloon beyond the cupola of the bandstand, the sphere echoing the roofline, but glowing of itself rather than reflecting ambient light.
The view is excellent, of course, though not as high as the Pru. Much nicer to be slowly turning in the breeze with a 360 degree view than to walk around the four sides of a building. Last night was a bit chilly, but not noiceably more chilly in the basket.
Of course, I thought of The Wizard of Oz (conflating the house and the Wizard's balloon to say "we're not in Kansas anymore" on the way down). I also thought of the wonderful balloon in Black Hearts Over Battersea, though that one would be beyond this simple (though more engineered) one.
I suspect it's not really like flying in a balloon, given that it's tethered on a winch, and there's no other way of controlling the height. None of the variability of adding more helium, or letting some out, or tossing sandbags (if that's still done). Still, a lovely way to see the city.
( another mode of alternate transportation )
The basket is wicker, in a way that made me think of picnic baskets (...I become a giant sandwich over the city...). Luckily there was a little foot hole in one side, and a stepstool brought over, because otherwise getting in and out in a straight skirt would've been rather challenging. The balloon wasn't lit up for our ride, but had been earlier, looking like an absurdly large moon (though with an advertising banner on it, so more like the moon after marketing people have gotten to it). It was rather startling to see the balloon beyond the cupola of the bandstand, the sphere echoing the roofline, but glowing of itself rather than reflecting ambient light.
The view is excellent, of course, though not as high as the Pru. Much nicer to be slowly turning in the breeze with a 360 degree view than to walk around the four sides of a building. Last night was a bit chilly, but not noiceably more chilly in the basket.
Of course, I thought of The Wizard of Oz (conflating the house and the Wizard's balloon to say "we're not in Kansas anymore" on the way down). I also thought of the wonderful balloon in Black Hearts Over Battersea, though that one would be beyond this simple (though more engineered) one.
I suspect it's not really like flying in a balloon, given that it's tethered on a winch, and there's no other way of controlling the height. None of the variability of adding more helium, or letting some out, or tossing sandbags (if that's still done). Still, a lovely way to see the city.
( another mode of alternate transportation )