Centralia Hot Air Balloon Festival

Found this Blog yesterday written by the previous owner's daughter....
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/15459761-of-hot-air-balloons-and-heart-s-desires
Of Hot Air Balloons and Heart’s Desires
Summer is here, and I look forward to a new joy this year: seeing my late father’s pride and joy, Pegasus, fly the skies again.

When my father passed away last year, I sold his custom hot air balloon to help pay for his final arrangements. My father hadn’t flown her in close to 20 years, and I was overjoyed to finally see her aloft again in pictures and video of balloon rallies last fall.

Pegasus is a custom made hot air balloon featuring a black Pegasus with silver wings and horn centered on a full blue moon on a purple background flecked with red and silver stars. She flies solid black pennants, with the slogan “Once in a Blue Moon” at the very bottom. Her striking red eyes and black coat were my touch as a child, as I helped my father design the balloon. Pegasus represented his proudest accomplishment of becoming a hot air balloon pilot, which took him many years of study, sandwiched in on evenings and weekends when he wasn’t working hard on overhead door work. I believe that my father’s happiest memories came from flying her, his most favorite thing in the world…and why he couldn’t bring himself to sell her, when he grew too ill to fly. My dad couldn’t bear to let another pilot take custody of his dream. It’s hard to let go of your heart’s desire, even when you know its time. But dreams held too long slowly become weights that hold you back from new dreams. You can’t move forward standing still…or fly, when you are trapped on the ground.

Pegasus has a new owner that loves her very much⎯I daresay as much as my dad⎯, and deserves more time in the sun, being admired amidst the clouds. She is part of someone else’s dreams now, with a beautiful future stretching out before her like the endless blue sky. It fills my heart with happiness to see her aloft once more, galloping fast among the clouds.

Cherish your past, and live your dreams as much as you can, every day. And when its time, let them go gently, drifting on the wind.
 

Wow!  Very cool.  Thanks for sharing.

I still think about Sid when I see that balloon.