Mark Meyer brought Beach Bound, his Volkswagen van balloon, to the Special Shape Rodeo on Thursday morning at Balloon Fiesta. The balloon’s lights and horn turned a familiar flight into a crowd moment, and little kids were able to press the horn.
Meyer said Beach Bound carries about 13 people inside the van, along with a puppy dog, a cat and a parrot, and two surfboards on top. He also said the balloon can light up its headlights, taillights and license plate, and that the horn and lights are part of what draws people in.
Mark Meyer and Beach Bound
Meyer said he flew Beach Bound at the Special Shape Rodeo after years in aviation and ballooning. He has piloted airplanes, gliders and helicopters as an Army aviator, began ballooning in the 1990s, and started piloting a special shape balloon named Carnival in 2005.
He said Beach Bound came from a newer balloon he helped put together with his wife and some friends in recent years. For Meyer, the attraction is not speed or point-to-point flying. “With the balloon, I’m with a group of friends and family that I love and want to be with,” he said, “and we’re just going out to fly.”
Albuquerque Box and flying
Meyer said he likes it most when the Albuquerque Box is in effect because he gets to fly, have fun and relax. He also said, “It’s almost like you’re flying a magic carpet,” and called ballooning “a traveling party of friends.”
That helps explain why Beach Bound drew attention at Balloon Fiesta: it is built to look like a Volkswagen van packed for a vacation, not a standard balloon shape. Meyer said, “The people that come up to (Beach Bound) are just enthralled, more like it’s a cartoon or something fun, because our Beach Bound has a horn, and it has lights that we put in for night glows,” and added, “And that’s why we call it Beach Bound, because we like to think that they’re heading to the beach for a big festive time on vacation.”
Special Shape Rodeo crowd
The Thursday morning rodeo put the balloon in front of crowds looking for special shapes, and Beach Bound fit that setting by giving people something to see up close and hear. The scene also showed how Meyer’s preference for ballooning differs from airplane flying: one is about moving efficiently, while the other is about being with the people around him and letting the flight unfold.
What the Balloon Fiesta crowd saw was a balloon shaped like a rolling summer trip, with pets, surfboards and a horn people could press. That is the part that made Beach Bound stand out.
