Traveling in Style : Side Trips : Hot Air

Look! Up in the sky! It’s. . . . Well, it’s a few dozen gas-filled air bags with gondolas attached, streaking--OK, drifting--across the sky! It’s the 7th annual hot-air balloon race at the Del Mar Fair in Del Mar, held in the waning daylight of the Fourth of July. The pre-race action starts at 6 p.m., as spectators gather to watch the competing craft being filled to the music of the U.S. Navy Band. Launch is at 7:10 p.m., with the race lasting about an hour, until sunset. Balloons screech to a halt, as it were, out of sight of the audience, but a fireworks display starts up immediately to keep fans entertained until the winner can be announced. (The point of a balloon race isn’t speed, but the accuracy with which the competitors can hit their landing spot.) Admission to the race is free with admission to the fair, which is $7 for adults, $4 for senior citizens, $2 for children 6 to 12, free for under-sixers. Sun Surfer, the Del Mar balloon shop that organizes the event, also invites fair-goers to join one of the race teams and actually ride along in a balloon, for $125 per person. Call (619) 793-5555 for information about the Del Mar Fair and for directions to the fairgrounds.