Pilots travel from far and wide for All Ohio Balloon Festival
Steve Wilkinson was riding his motorcycle through California’s Coachella Valley out in the Palm Desert area as hot air balloons were flying overhead. As the pilots began to land and conduct the after-flight champagne toasts, Wilkinson noticed that they were attempting to wave passerbys down.
“They were waving to anyone who would help them pack up and saying ‘hey we’ve got alcohol and champagne,’” Wilkinson said. After a few celebratory toasts, Wilkinson got talking with one of the pilots.
“The ballooning didn’t really interest me that much, but when he said there was balloon competition, (that) you could race balloons, that interested me. I race all over the world now,” he said.
Wilkins…
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