I never miss an opportunity to take a great photo. Years before we were married, my husband and I ventured out to take photos of the hot air balloon race during the St. Paul Winter Carnival. We froze our fingers that day but took some awesome photos so of course I jumped at the chance to photo the RE/MAX balloon as it took off from the White Bear Lake.
I thought I had missed out on the flight as it was suppose to fly over the Governor’s Fishing Opener on White Bear Lake this past weekend. I was busy showing homes in Chisago County on Saturday so figured the balloon fly over was just a memory.
On Sunday afternoon, my colleague Rose Hildebrand dropped by my Wyoming open house. She also was holding an open in the same neighborhood and wanted to see my listing. When she casually mentioned the RE/MAX balloon was a go for Sunday evening, I couldn't wait! 
The takeoff point was Benson Field just south of Hugo in White Bear Township. It was a beautiful evening. It was a good thing my husband was there, the balloon team needed a bit of help to get the balloon off the ground. There is a bit of work to getting the balloon set up and put away. My fellow RE/MAX Specialist REALTOR®'s Julie Jarvis and Rose Hildebrand were allowed to go along for the ride of their lives. I chose to keep both feet firmly on the ground and capture the adventure in photos. 
When asked where they planned to land the balloon, the answer was, wherever the wind takes us. (This wasn't a joke.) We followed the van to assist the team in putting the balloon back in the van and had to chase after the balloon; stopping and assessing along the way. They tried to set down in the Mahtomedi practice field but the wind had other ideas.
They literally ended up landing on the front yard of a home in Mahtomedi. Before landing, the van driver did ask the homeowners permission...Her teenager thought the hot air balloon was amazing and took out a cell phone to snap a few pictures of his own. But their dog, Daisy, who is afraid of regular balloons, was having her worst nightmare. For me however, it was just a fabulous adventure! If you ever have a chance to assist in a RE/MAX hot air balloon adventure of your own, don't turn it down. It was a great way to spend a Sunday evening!
Copyright 2009 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/
