The 41st Annual Helen to the Atlantic Hot Air Balloon Race is almost up, up and away!!!
The race begins at 7 AM on Thursday, June 5th, but Helen will be hot air balloon heaven each morning and evening through Saturday, June 7, 2014.
Few things are as elegant as ascending in a colorful hot air balloon on a summer morning or evening, gone with the wind … headed for the beach.
Helen, Georgia, is an amazingly cool town any day of the year — especially if you arrive on a motorcycle.
Few scenes are as memorable as watching flocks of hot air balloons fill the sky — with Helen’s magnificent hills in the background — as they “race” toward the Atlantic Ocean powered by the breeze.
According to the rules, the winner of the race is the first balloon that crosses the finish line: I-95, anywhere between Maine and Miami.
The race’s website says,
“The shortest distance is 225 miles and the race usually takes two days. It has been done in one day, while some races have taken as many as four days. Six to ten balloons will be competing in the cross country race.
It is a race where both the pilot’s and crew’s skills are challenged. A balloon can only go the same speed and direction as the wind. The pilot must find the altitude which gives him/her the best speed as well as direction towards the finish line.”
The Helen to the Atlantic Hot Air Balloon Race is the oldest balloon event in the South and the only long distance hot air balloon race in America.
Your children are *guaranteed to love you forever if you take them for a ride! (*Some restrictions apply.)
Park yourself on a bench by the rushing Chattahoochee River and let your spirits fly with the balloons … and let your worries float away with them.
Want more good news? I cannot find any prohibition in the rules (not that I looked that hard) to tying a few balloons onto a lawn chair to enter the race.
Please Note: Check with your doctor and insurance company before trying to fly your lawn chair. Thank you.
Click Here for News About Lawn Chair Balloon Champion Larry Walters
Click Here for Schedules, Prices for “Tethered” Rides & More
Click Here for the Helen to the Atlantic Hot Air Balloon Race Facebook Page
