Huff, Huff, Huffing in a Hot Air Balloon!

ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our ELEVENTH round with 'Captain Roger' at the helm! Some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter is, "H".

HORCHATA

(image from the Wikipedia site)

Horchata. Says Wikipedia:

" or orxata (Valencian: [oɾˈtʃata]) is the name of several kinds of traditional beverages, made of ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice, barley, or tigernuts (chufas).
Horchata varies in taste across Latin America (and Spain). Although the drinks may share the same name, the flavor of each is unique to its country of origin.
While in some countries the drink is usually tan and "milky", some recipes call for milk, and others do not. Other ingredients often include sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Though horchata was once typically homemade, it is now available in both ready-to-drink (shelf-stable or refrigerated) and powdered form in grocery stores. Horchata, together with tamarindo and jamaica, are the three typical drink flavors of Mexican agua frescas."


A delicious beverage that is, I think, a better alternative to sodas since there is half the amount of sugar and less chemicals in it!

HOT AIR BALLOON

Hot air balloons are a visual feast-especially here when the 2012 annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta takes place-which is about a month from now. About 9 full days of hot air balloon launches. There are so many that get launched, that they have to be assigned when they go up-in groups called, 'waves'. As we head in to fall weather when the mornings are cooler, you start to hear the hot air balloons flying overhead-the unmistakeable 'whoosh' of the gas filling the balloon. What makes this area suitable for hot air ballooning in the fall is what is called the "box". It has to do with the relationship of the mountains and the valley here that makes the air flow go in a box from the valley floor to the mountains and back down again to the valley (imagine drawing a box in the air with you finger and that would be what we have here). The 'box' keeps the flight of the balloons in a smaller geographical area than they would be-which is being carried away by the wind current. The link through for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta explains the box more accurately  than I have! I'm sure if you went to You Tube and typed in the "Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta", there would be a lot of video you could watch to get an idea of how great a spectacle it is.