nPostednon March 21, 2014
n
n
n
n
n
n
Inhave heard that ballooning is a beautiful thing. The world is sonlovely from up high (and generally from ground level, too, ofncourse), and everything is so silent. It’s supposed to be prettynglorious.
Inhave heard that ballooning is a beautiful thing. The world is sonlovely from up high (and generally from ground level, too, ofncourse), and everything is so silent. It’s supposed to be prettynglorious.n
n
n
n
n
n
Butnsince the “parachute ride” at Knott’s Berry Farm seemsnterrifyingly high to me, I’ve never paid big bucks to go anheck of a lot higher in a hot air balloon. n
Butnsince the “parachute ride” at Knott’s Berry Farm seemsnterrifyingly high to me, I’ve never paid big bucks to go anheck of a lot higher in a hot air balloon. nn
n
n
n
n
nAlso,nI have never circumnavigated the globe, or even come close. I’venflown from California to Hawaii, from California to Vancouver,nCanada, and from California to Brussels, Belgium, but most of mynexplorations have been by car, bounded to the one continent I wasnborn on.
n
n
n
n
n
nSonit is hard for me to imagine what the Swiss and English balloonists,nBertrand Piccard and Brian Jones, experienced in March 1999.
n
n
n
n
n
nIncan tell you the facts: n
n
n
n
n
n
n
Onnthe first of March, Piccard and Jones set off from Switzerland inntheir bright red egg-shaped capsule dangling below a really largensilver and blue balloon. Their enclosed egg measured 16 feet long andn7 feet in diameter. The balloonists took advantage of the jet streamsnto travel around the globe. Finally, after almost 20 full days ofntraveling more than 28 thousand miles (45 thousand km), they landednin Egypt.
Onnthe first of March, Piccard and Jones set off from Switzerland inntheir bright red egg-shaped capsule dangling below a really largensilver and blue balloon. Their enclosed egg measured 16 feet long andn7 feet in diameter. The balloonists took advantage of the jet streamsnto travel around the globe. Finally, after almost 20 full days ofntraveling more than 28 thousand miles (45 thousand km), they landednin Egypt. n
n
n
nToday is the anniversary of that landing.
n
n
n
n
n
nThose are the facts…Butnwhat did their trip feel like?
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nIncan’t help wondering:
n
n
n
nWhat did they see?
n
n
n
nHow high upnwere they? How thin was the air (and did they have to bring their ownnoxygen, like astronauts)?
n
n
n
nDid one of them have to be awake at allntimes, to steer the balloon or keep an eye on electronic equipment or…?
n
n
n
 |
| Warning: These two books are the same book, just different titles and publishers. |
n
nHow much did they get to move about during those 20 days, given the fact that their capsule was only 16 feet long?
n
n
n
n
n
n
nIfnyou, too, wonder about long hot-air balloon trips, you could checknout Piccard / Jones’s book about the feat. n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAlsonon this date:
n
n
n
n
Nowruz,nor Persian New Year
Nowruz,nor Persian New Year n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nMemory Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAbsolutelynIncredible Kid Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nMexicannPresident Benito Juarez’s birthday
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAnniversarynof the Moondog Coronation Ball
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPlannahead:
n
n
n
n
n
nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
n
- n
-
n
-
n
-
n n Historicaln anniversaries in March
n
n
n
n
n
nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
n
n
- n
-
nApriln holidays
n
-
nApriln birthdays
n
-
n
n
n
n
nnn
