Hot Air Ballooning in Midlothian, Texas

We finally got our hot air balloon ride! The silent video below highlights our flight in under a minute.

Midlothian is a city outside of Dallas. We started our adventure at 5:00pm on Saturday. It began with a funny looking van in a parking lot with a 600 lb basket on the back.

Hot Air Balloon Ride or Abduction?

From there, we went into the van and they drove us away out into an empty field (sounds bad typing that out).

Wayne's Hot Air Balloons

Then we lugged out a bag holding the 400 lb balloon envelope.

Hot Air Balloon: Some Assembly Required

The balloon envelope extended a surprising amount.

Balloons can cost over $20,000

That day I learned that first step to filling the hot air balloon with hot air is filling it with cold air. Caiqian helped hold the envelope open as the operator turned on a fan.

As seen in the video above.

At the end I took Caiqian's place as the operator turned on the burners and pointed them into the envelope until the air heated up.

Not seen: flames shooting into the envelope.

Then we were told to get into the basket ("Don't think about it. Just get in!") and we were off!

Beats driving

At first we thought it would be cold up in the air, but what we didn't account for was that we were feet away from propane burners that shot 20 foot flames. It was scorching hot.

Wearing jackets is a rookie mistake.

We had a great time, floating ~1000 feet in the air in our ~1000 lb hot air balloon.

One bucket list item down!

One surprising thing we noticed was how clearly we could hear the animals (like dogs barking) that high in the air.

Sunglasses were a good idea.

We also enjoyed waving to people and covering them with our balloon shadow.

I wonder what this guy thought...

There was another balloon and we enjoyed seeing them as well.

What a beautiful day.

Eventually we had to land and put away our equipment.

Got my arm workout for the day.

We then finished with celebratory champagne.

We made it!

We had such a great time that we even had a late dinner with everyone afterward at Campuzano's.

An extra late celebration.

The food was OK, but hearing their hot air ballooning stories was priceless. Because the operator can only control the height of the balloon, they occasionally float over inappropriate areas (prisons, people sunbathing in their back yards, etc.).

For once, I don't know when or where the next adventure will be. Who knows? We'll see!

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

For the last few months or so, Caiqian and I have looked for a hot-air balloon ride vendor to redeem our ticket. To our surprise, we found one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana the weekend of Mardi Gras (March 1st and 2nd). Since New Orleans was so close by, we decided to try out Mardi Gras in the biggest Mardi Gras city in the world.

Mardi Gras 2014

Our journey began on Saturday morning. The first order of business was breakfast, and what better breakfast than a po-boy?

Ok, there may be more conventional breakfasts, but Caiqian and I had to try the acclaimed "world's best po-boy" from Mother's Restaurant. The Ferdi Special was unlike any po-boy I had ever had. The real secret of the po-boy is that it has "debris", a mixture of meat trimmings and gravy which soaks the bread. Typically I think po-boys are a bit dry, but this one was soaked with gravy, which was a pleasant surprise.

Ferdi Special Po-Boy from Mother's Restaurant

After a hearty breakfast it was time for Caiqian and I to experience our first Mardi Gras parade. I learned that in NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) there are many parades at varying times. The parade Caiqian and I went to was the "Krewe of Iris."

One car from the Krewe of Iris

Needless to say, catching the free beads from the passing cars was a blast! It wasn't long before Caiqian and I built up a sizable collection.

BEADS

Caiqian and I stood around and saw the whole Krewe parade, including many local band performances.

There were a lot of high school bands.

One strange section of the parade was the gang of Traveling Elvises.

Gang of Traveling Elvises

After a hard morning of parading, it was time for Caiqian and I to re-energize at Acme Oyster House. At first we were intimidated by the long line, but soon after getting in line, we skipped the whole thing because we were were a party of two. Success!

What a line

Of all the food that Caiqian and I ate in New Orleans, Acme's chargrilled oysters were our favorite.

Acme's famous Char-grilled Oysters

To finish it off, we enjoyed a scoop of bread pudding and vanilla ice cream.

Our first Louisiana bread pudding

Walking back outside we caught some post-lunch parades.

More Parading

While walking around, we found a drink stand that was selling an alcoholic drink in a truly unique cup.

Sexy Leg from Coco Bongos

About an hour later the drink was finished. Surprisingly, I didn't feel a bit intoxicated, although I did feel regret consuming that much liquid.

Ugh..

Afterwards we made our way to Deanie's, known for their BBQ shrimp. Caiqian and I tried it out, but Deanie's wasn't our favorite. 

BBQ Shrimp at Deanie’s Seafood 

Following dinner, we did our last round of parading, which was like the previous parades except with glorious neon lighting.

Night-time parading

At the nighttime parade Caiqian and I got a lot of freebies, including bags, beads, tiny styrofoam light sticks, and other miscellaneous toys. We were also graced with the presence of one of the Mardi Gras Queens.

New Orleans Queen 

Afterwards it was late and time for Caiqian and I to make our way back to our hotel in Baton Rouge. I don't think we slept until 2:00am, but it was a great Saturday in New Orleans.

Sunday in Baton Rouge

We originally planned to have our hot air balloon ride in Baton Rouge, but as usual the flight was cancelled due to weather. However, not all was lost. Our vendor originally wanted to meet us in a place called Coffee Call that sold beignets. We may not have had a hot air balloon ride, but that didn't mean we couldn't eat beignets at Coffee Call!

Beignets at Coffee Call

After a nice brunch we wanted to finish with a substantial meal before driving back to Houston. We decided to try a restaurant called Parrain's Seafood House, which turned out to be one of our favorite discoveries, right up there with Acme Oyster House.

Lunch at Parrain's 

After out meal of chargrilled oysters, regular oysters, alligator pieces, crawfish & crab au gratin, and chowder, we had to finish with that Louisiana bread pudding.

White Chocolate Bread Puddin' with a Caiqian Twist ( Ice Cream)

Long story short, no hot air balloon ride, but it was a great excuse to experience Mardi Gras in the Mardi Gras capital. Next up, Caiqian and I will (hopefully) arrange a balloon ride that actually happens!

Bryan In Asia

Operations have moved to BryanInAsia. Come to hear about my three-week trip to China and Japan.

On the Road Again.

Bad News

This is Erlinda Fausto.

But I never knew her as a young woman. For me she was simply Grandma, or Grandma Linda. This is who Erlinda Fausto was to me.

She was there for me my whole life. Always smiling, hugging, and protecting me. 

 Like gravity, her love was a constant, so I never thought twice about it. 

She was there for every birthday and special event that I can remember. 

The last time special event she came to was my college graduation. My parents tell me that she was very proud.

For twenty-one years of my life, she watched me grow up. She saw all the stages of my life, the crying infant, the adorable child, the awkward teenager, and finally the young man. I still remember how it felt when I hugged her on that humid night. It was May 17th.

My grandmother died twelve days later. At the time, I had just arrived in China. She departed while I was halfway around the world. My parents decided it was best not to tell me until I got back. While in China, Caiqian and I bought her a handheld sewing device because she loved sewing so much. We didn't know that by then it had already been too late.

By the time I arrived back in the USA, my grandma had already had her funeral and was cremated. On my first day back, my dad drove me, still unaware, to my grandparents house. I was told that my grandma was waiting for me. There he told me the bad news.

I then saw grandma, waiting for me in a cremation vase in her bedroom. Seeing her in such a small space made me very sad. As part of my final goodbye, I showed her the handheld sewing device we bought for her in China. It pains me to know that she'll never get to use it. I'm still coping with that. How can I ever recover from losing someone I've loved so much? What am I supposed to do, how should I act, what should I feel?
I don't know. All I know is that I'm glad to have known someone who truly embodied love.

Goodbye Grandma. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you like you were for me. I'll keep you alive in my thoughts. Always.

California: Exploratium, Gilroy Gardens, and the SBUV3

Caiqian had an interview at Stanford. Given the amount of schoolwork I had at the time, I decided to tag along. Before we knew it, we were both at the airport where my Uncle Oreste was waiting to pick us up. Our California trip began by seeing the San Francisco seals.

Seals

After seeing the seals, we went to San Francisco's Exploratorium, where we observed lots of fascinating science experiments, including a vapor vortex that we were allowed to touch.

Twister

One of our favorite exhibits was seeing the live sea urchins, which were eating baby carrots at an astoundingly slow pace.

Om Nom Nom

Our favorite exhibit however was the Magnetic Labyrinth, captured on video below. The magnetic labyrinth consists of a ferromagnetic fluid trapped between two glass sheets, manipulated by a magnet underneath that the user holds. Caiqian loves it so much that I'm now attempting to recreate it back in Austin.

After we left the Exploratorium, Caiqian bought some turtle bread, which is apparently a thing here in California.

Turtle Bread

Later, when Caiqian was having her interviews, Uncle Oreste brought me out to a golf range, where I swung a real club for the first time. There are certain appeals abut playing golf over other sports, such as its slowness and lack of running. Maybe I'll take up golf in the future.

Swinging a golf club for the first time

One of the best parts of our California trip was seeing Gilroy Gardens, a one of a kind flora-themed amusement park.

Why is this park trying to deceive me?

The park featured many surreal trimmed bushes, which I now know is called topiary.

Word of the Day: Topiary

There were also fun vehicles around the park, like a Ferris wheel, miniature car, a train, and even a monorail.

Monorail! (Simpson's song, opens in new tab)

My favorite part of the park however were the circus trees, which were art works made of trees. The most famous one was the basket tree, which is made from 6 Sycamores grafted 42 times.

The Basket Tree

There was also the arch tree, which is made from two trees grafted into one.

The Arch Tree

A personal favorite was the Oil Rig Tree.

The Oil Rig

Currently Caiqian is playing Fire Emblem Awakening, which fits perfectly with this tree.

Emblem Tree

Caiqian and I also enjoyed the majestic four legged giant.

The Four-Legged Giant

Unfortunately, that's we began mimicing the trees.

Two two-legged giants

The sillier the shape, the more Caiqian and I tried to replicate it.

Zig-zag tree

Curvy Tree

Eventually, it started getting hot and we decided to leave the park, but not before snapping pictures of the remaining circus trees.

Ring Tree

Sideway Rope Rectangle Tree

Revolving Door Tree

My favorite part about California wasn't Gilroy Gardens though. It was riding on Uncle Oreste's Self Balancing Unicycle, Version 3 (shorthand, SBUV3). The first time I rode it, I couldn't go a yard, but by day three I had managed to make it down a whole street.

SBUV3

The SBUV3 was an incredibly useful stepping stone for learning how to ride my unicycle, which has been a project of mine for months now. I'll be sure to post when I've finally mastered the art of unicycling.