I just came back from attending Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It had always been a dream of mine to ride on a hot air balloon, and I decided if I was going to do it, I was going to DO it. The first Fiesta was held in 1972 with just a handful of balloons and attendees, and today, there are hundreds of balloons and it was estimated that this year, over 80,000 people flocked to the city to witness the magic.
The trip was planned the way that all of mine are- with heart, adventure and precision. I found a handful of things that I didn’t want to miss whilst in the city and purchased tickets and made reservations.
Here is a funny little fact about me that I’m not sure I’ve shared before: I’m not a weather checker. I know, insane. I have traveled all over the world and rarely have I checked the weather at my destination. When I book (early), I usually check to get a sense of what the temperatures are like that time of year, generally, but outside of that, I don’t pay too much attention. I think part of it is that I don’t want to have anxiety. I don’t want to fear the impact of a weather event, so I just cross my fingers and move ahead.
The day I was leaving for my trip, there was buzz about a weather event at home. And so, I broke my standard protocol and checked the weather in Albuquerque. I saw that rain was expected over the time I was there. Generally speaking, I’ve been known to rally in all kinds of weather. I’m very much not a weather weenie in any way. That said, my primary reason for going to New Mexico was riding in a hot air balloon and fun fact- they don’t send balloons up in inclement weather.
So, I breathed deeply and pivoted, as I recommend to many while stumbling over this challenging terrain we call life (particularly when that journey includes travel). I called the balloon folks from my Uber on the way to the airport and asked if I could move my ride up a day. This decision was made knowing that I would arrive late in the evening and have to be up quite early for my ride the next day. Not ideal conditions, but I would increase my chance of take-off and that was my sole intention.
Making this decision also shifted everything else around in my carefully planned itinerary. While I leave myself room to vibe, my travel plans are usually fairly structured, particularly when I am in a place for a brief period of time. No worries, I would just mix things up a little. I would push the outdoorsy activities to the first day, and then, leave everything else for the other days I was there. Easy peasy.
As is the way of things these days, my flight was delayed. It was not a significant delay, but enough of one that I ran dangerously close to the closing of the car rental company. Sadly, I’ve had the ‘sleeping at the airport’ experience before, but that would not be my choice under the specific circumstances I was faced with at the moment. Although everything was pretty close to the airport, I would need to get my car as soon as the rental car place opened again and somehow get to the launch location for my ride by 6:20 AM at the latest. That felt precarious. But I was hopeful, and I have a pretty boss support system (thanks, Sus).
We made up some time in the air and I walked as quickly as my little legs could take me and I managed to get in my car, arrive at my adorable Airbnb, wash up, and get into bed by midnight.
My balloon ride was even more fantastic than I could have ever imagined. We had a gorgeous, clear day and it was absolutely meditative. I loved every single second. Shortly after disembarking from the hot air balloon, I received an alert from JetBlue, advising me that a weather event was expected back home and if I wanted to change my flight, they would be happy to accommodate me without any change fees or penalties (okay, maybe not happy, but you know).
Man, I was really being slammed by weather information for someone who is normally very removed from weather-related worries. I consulted with a handful of my people and decided that it would be best to journey home a day earlier than expected. More breathing, more pivoting.
I won’t divulge every minor detail, but I will tell you that everything managed to work out. I moved dinner reservations, sat standby for the Sandia Peak Tram (and prevailed), found deeply coveted available parking spots, and visited landmarks by viewing them from hiking trails. I carpe’d the fuck out of my diem, times ten. No, times one hundred.
I lived with a full heart and an open mind for two full days. I checked all the things off my list and did so with relish and glee. To be honest, if I had to miss something, that would have been okay, too, because I was just soaking up every moment. I mean it. This isn’t some bullshit I’m pushing your way to inspire you. I made a pact with myself to extract every bit of joy I could, even when I was thrown obstacles, and I was going to stick to that, no matter what.
When I got to the car rental return location for my midnight flight a day before I was originally due to leave, I met two women who were also journeying back to New York. I say this with kindness- they were frantic. I could sense their anxiety through the furrows in their brow and their loud whispers, tinged with what can only be described as worry. I usually leave well enough alone, relying on my trusty earbuds, but I broke protocol and asked the women if I could help with anything. They advised that they had separate but equally important obligations at home and were concerned about our flight. I don’t know what possessed me, but I told these women that I was certain we would be just fine. We would take off and we would arrive home mostly according to schedule and all would be okay. Crazy, right? I mean, more outlandish in this travel nightmare-scape we live in today. And still, I felt certain enough to convey this message to them.
I was right, and I say that with no arrogance at all. We even landed at JFK Airport twenty minutes before represented. A dear friend picked me up at the airport (bless his heart) and I was home, showered, unpacked and in the warmth of my own bed by 8 AM. Before my eyes closed and I drifted off to slumber (a much needed nap), I smiled to myself, thinking of the bliss and fantastic-ness of the few days I spent in Albuquerque.
I thought about something else, too. I thought how I had texted a group of girlfriends to share photos of my hot air balloon ride and the first response I received back was (drum roll): did you meet any cute mountain men?
Did I tell you this whole story with the singular purpose of sharing the two sentences I just wrote? Yeah. I actually did. I’m not sharing this sentiment to condemn my girlfriends. I’m not looking to vilify them. I want to explain that there’s another way- a way to celebrate the diverse choices that people make. There is a way to make space for an existence that looks radically different than the choices you’ve made, without drawing comparisons or pointing out the holes you might see based on your vision.
As I’ve shared before, I think a lot of what’s going on today all boils down to a foundation of fear. I think it’s scary to contemplate a life that’s unlike your own. It’s hard to relate, to understand, and moreover it challenges the sometimes-shaky connection we have to the choices we’ve made. When things are tough, in any way, the most human thing that we do is start to question our decisions, and someone thriving in an alternative scenario can make things feel more questionable. When we breathe, when we pause, when we operate from a place of courage, rather than fear, we can make space for so many possibilities. When we let ourselves sit in places of discomfort for a moment, we can understand that even when people have taken what we might think of as alternative paths, there are places where we have cross-over. Someone’s differing existence is not better or worse and it certainly doesn’t threaten our own.
I know you may think this reaction is too much, but I can assure you that the response I received was one I’ve been faced with many, many times.
I met so many people on my trip. People I spoke to, people I observed, people I provided comfort to. None of those people are coming home with me, and none are romantic interests, but each will sit with me, a seed of a memory. A beautiful, fulfilling memory. That time I went to New Mexico and crossed an item off my bucket list and was reminded of all the lovely, unique faces that make up the United States, and all the beautiful spaces with no one at all.
Maybe I’ll find my person one day, or maybe my person is meant to be hot air balloons, airport friends, and miles of desolate desert vista with the bluest skies.
As Sus always says, let’s not yuck someone else’s yum.
Right?
X
L.
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