The NOT-SO-Great MidWest Balloon Festival

We were on the hunt for something fun yet different to do as a family this beautiful Friday night. We pulled out the weekend preview and learned that The 2nd Annual Great MidWest Balloon Festival was happening at the Great Mall in Olathe. We dialed up our friends, The Johnsons, and headed out their direction. We grabbed a bite to eat and onto the festival we strolled. Kids were free, adults were $10. Not too shabby for what we thought we were in store for but we had to quickly find our seats, lift off was at 6:45 and it was already pushing 7. Finding seats quickly really didn't matter because we waited for about 2 1/2 hours and only saw 3 balloons take off-from what the "balloon commentator" said, it was too windy for the balloons to take off and then as the wind died down, it was too late… Go Figure. We had hoped we would get to see a number of balloons fill the sky but Mother Nature had something else in store for us and our $20 entry fee went down the drain. The kids did enjoy watching the few balloons who made it into the air and I did get to take a few pictures but not as many as I would have liked. Next year when the 3rd Annual Balloon Festival rolls around we will be packing our own cooler and chairs and parking across the street in the Olathe Medical Center parking lot and setting up shop for the evening. Same view, no charge!