We woke up at the crack of dawn yesterday. Correction: we woke up at 1:30 am. yesterday to go see the hot air balloons take off in Windsor, CA. They never took off.
Oh well, I guess there was too much wind, but at least we got to see them inflated. It seems like the people who went today (Sunday) didn’t even get to see much of that either. The Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic happens once a year and is pretty popular. You wouldn’t believe how many people showed up at 4 am to see the balloons in the dark. They are really kind of cool. The ballons come in all shapes. Some are more conventional, but some are in the shape of a fish, mouse, birds, etc. Even Darth Vader showed up!
I don’t know much about hot air balloons, but it seems it doesn’t take much wind to throw them off. I still want to go on a ride at some point. I think it could be really fun!
morgane byloos photography 
these hot air ballooning events are wonderful to see. There are always some original balloons like Darth Vader, but there are sometimes cows flying in the air: D
In France we have festivals in some regions every year, which see hundreds of balloons with their pilots, flying in the air, for the pleasure of the eyes
I’m from Belgium and feel like we have them too. I just can’t remember where exactly. It was a cool experience! 😀