FLYING WITH SUZY BLUE PART II - 1981 International Balloon Fiesta

This picture is the cover of the 1981 official program of the 10th Annual Internation Balloon Fiesta held in Albuquerque, NM the first 2 weekends in October for a total of 9 days.

In this post I am going to write about this grand-daddy of them all .

As I explained here, our introduction to hot air balloons began in 1979 when we attended the 8th Fiesta just for a weekend as spectators only.

In 1980 we attended the 9th Fiesta for the entire 9 days as crew members for our friends ERA (Electronic Realtors Association) Balloon. They had introduced us to ballooning. Mickey had earned his Private Hot Air Balloon License and did fly their ERA balloon during part of this time.

By the time the 10th Fiesta rolled around in 1981 we attended with Suzy Blue. Above is our official chase vehicle pass, Mickey's Pilot ID, and the propane card to refuel the propane tanks each day.

This picture shows some of the balloons being inflated on the balloon field amidst the crowds of people that attend.

This is our fearless Pilot!!!! Ballooning is an early morning sport. We would set our alarms for about 4:30 and arrive at the balloon field by 6 a.m. YES, that early of a morning in Albuquerque in October it is cold and this picture depicts that.

It was just 9 days of pure bliss for us and our large group that made the trip from Tulsa with us. The high point of the event for us is shown here. The Australian balloon pilots had a drawing among the 300 registered balloons and Mickey won the drawing.

This certificate reads: This certificate is valid for one round-trip ticket for one individual from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Sidney, Australia. Must be redeemed within 12 months upon receipt. Contact6 Bob Dickson for redemption. October 10, 1981. Mickey was to be furnished a balloon in Sidney to participate in a Balloon Rally there. We were ALL so excited about this!!!

The sad part is that Mickey never took the trip. My mother was very ill and living with us at the time and I was unable to go. Mickey said if I couldn't attend with him he wouldn't go and he didn't. I tried my best to get him to go and take our 13 year old son Marc but he wouldn't. It is one of the things that all three of us really regret to this day.

This picture is of Ella and I in our Suzy Blue skirt and tops that we wore while at the parties in Albuquerque. Ella & her husband, Floyd traveled with us to Memphis and Albuquerque as part of our crew.

Since Mickey & my anniversary is October 4th we celebrated our 21st through 25th Wedding Anniversary every year in Albuquerque at the Balloon Fiesta. This is our 23rd Anniversary. The girl in the red dress is Anna Lee. She and her husband, Don, also traveled with us from Tulsa to Memphis and Albuquerque. From left to right is: Susan, Mickey, forever friend Joan, forever friend Bev and Bev's husband, Jim. The others were there too just not in this picture.

Part of the celebration is a parade down Central Avenue of the balloon chase vehicles, balloons and crew. This is a few of us as we were preparing for the parade.

We have MANY fun stories and experiences from this Fiesta. One of which is this: Suzy Blue was a "stock balloon". That means that we ordered her out of a catalog and she was not a custom made balloon. There was another balloon the exact colors and size that was owned by a Doctor from Kansas City. We kept running into this Dr. and his balloon at various Rally's beginning in Memphis and developed a very friendly rivalry with he and his crew. Our mascot, Mickey Mouse was always tied to the corner of Suzy Blue's basket. When we got to our chase vehicle on the morning of October 6th , where the basket and balloon stayed over night at the Holiday Inn, Mickey was gone. There was a note in Mickey's place that read that Mickey had been mousenapped by Big Bird. We were all quite upset. Two days later on the morning of October 8th they held what was called the Tumbleweed Drop event. All the balloons would start out where ever in the city they choose and the object was to drop a big tumbleweed onto a very large "X" in the center of the balloon field. Prizes were given for the winners. During this tumbleweed drop some of our Tulsa group were on the field watching and suddenly down comes a big tumbleweed with Mickey Mouse tied to it. We were so happy when we got back to the field that morning and were greeted by these enthusiastic Tulsa's who had rescued Mickey.

So far I have pretty much covered the high points of 1981 and Suzy Blue's adventures. Stay tuned for the next installment!!!