After our big events on Saturday, Sunday was a very chill day as we headed back home. We grabbed our complimentary coffee from the bizarre espresso-dispensing machine at the Aloft (because I am a *gold* preferred guest – I could play it off like I’m better than you, but I’m pretty sure I earned that status as part of a promotion) and drove off into morning headed for apple orchards!
I know that the photo below is a bit creepy. Sure, I should have stayed and done something pretty with the beautiful orange light that was falling on my face as the afternoon got on towards sunset. But I was rushing out the door to come home and just snapped a few in the cool mirror at the Mandarin Oriental. It’s the latest in my series of hotel self-portraits.
“You love me and I love photography and the best photography will happen at sunrise,” I told George’s unresponsive back at 6:30 in the morning. He wanted none of it, but I persevered and by 7:10 we were on the road to the balloon festival, as the sky shifted from dark to light blue. Excited, I gathered my camera gear and skipped off to the ticket counter. The lovely festival ticket-taker informed us that there would be no balloon launch until noon, due to the high winds. I looked at George with apologetic eyes. I got him up for nothing!