Up, Up and Away ...

As Seal once asked, "In a world full of people, only some want to fly. Isn't that crazy?"

I use that quote as a lead-in to tell you that there's a company called Aeroballoon that for a month now has been taking people up in a helium balloon about 300 feet above the center of Boston Common. It costs $12 for a 10–15 minute ride, and the balloon's tethered, so you don't go anywhere — but you do get a spectacular view that is totally worth it.

Today I went out to take advantage of such an experience. Of course, it's all weather permitting, so when I arrived at the site at around 2:30, it was grounded due to wind, and a sign said it would be grounded until 6pm. Being the stupid — I mean stubborn — guy that I am, I kept myself busy until then. Finally, at around 7pm, I went up. And rather than tell you about the experience, which was really cool, I'll just show you some pictures — taken, I should add, with my new Nikon Coolpix 4600 camera, which finally came out of the box today.

The Aeroballoon is only in town until Monday. After that, it'll be at Franklin Park Zoo until September 23. Not sure the views will be any good over there, but I still recommend taking advantage of the opportunity if you can.

[Note: If you click on any of the pictures, you can get a bigger version. These small thumbnails really don't do the views — or the photos — justice.]