Living in San Diego for 28 years, we raised four children in an area where we were in the flight path of the hot air balloon rides. Many would fly overhead almost every day near sunset. Many would land in our neighborhood or in nearby canyons. Because of the tie-in to those years and those memories, hot air balloons are something special to us. Last year, we drove up to Mesquite on a Friday after work, to see the Mesquite Balloon Festival’s Night Glow event. Drove back home

Never having been to the dunes before, we thought we would accompany brother and girlfriend to Amargosa Valley, NV, for New Year's weekend. Brother has a blue sandrail, so while he and girlfriend rode it, we'd thought we would watch all the folks out enjoying the dunes, and fly our drone taking some great action shots and video. The Amargosa Sand Dunes are approximately 88 miles northwest of Las Vegas off Interstate 95. Leaving the paved road, folks drive in with their trucks

With a tour scheduled for the afternoon at Firestone Walker Brewing Co., we decided to drive to downtown Paso Robles for lunch. Looking for a deli on iMaps, we found the Red Scooter Deli. PB ordered our food, while I found us a table on the patio overlooking the park at the center of town. A Christmas tree lightning was scheduled for later that evening at the park, and all the town storefronts were decorated for the holidays. Our sandwiches, the Daddy-O (pastrami, provolone