Did you ever fantasize about taking flight, feeling the wind blow through your hair and not have to worry about strapping on a parachute? You can fulfill that fantasy this fall by attending the 2007 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Floating in a balloon over the skies of Albuquerque is a very romantic way to celebrate a milestone birthday, an anniversary, or just a terrific vacation. You can watch as the crew inflates the giant balloon. After takeoff you will quietly sail the clear blue skies of New Mexico with Santa Fe to the north and the Sandia Mountains to the east.

Albuquerque expects hundreds of thousands of people to attend the mass ascension days where 700 balloons rise in coordinated waves. The mass ascensions are scheduled from 7-8am on each weekend day of the Fiesta. You can schedule a balloon ride via the Fiesta website.

Afraid of heights? If you prefer to stay on the ground but still want to be involved, why not join a chase crew? Chase crews help the pilot inflate the balloon and then chase the balloon on the ground to help collect the pilot and passengers and deflate the balloon. You can register online to become part of a chase crew.

This is a great opportunity for travel photographers too. Balloons take off just before sunrise and sunset each day when the light is best. Watching the balloons rise over the desert of New Mexico is a magnificent sight. Photographers can dazzle their viewers with the many varieties of balloons from multi-colored conventional round balloons to every shape and size a balloon artist can create in forms such as creatures, trains, flowers, and symbols of every conceivable theme.

Balloon glow is an event not to be missed. The Fiesta website explains that “it was invented in Albuquerque in 1979, when local pilots inflated balloons on Christmas Eve night as a ‘thank you’ to local residents. The sight of balloons lit from within at night like giant holiday ornaments is breathtaking, and ‘glow’ events are now held all over the world. Balloon Fiesta launched its Balloon Glow – the world’s biggest – in 1987. Fiesta Glow ‘all burns’ – when all the balloons fire their burners and light up at the same time – are perhaps the most spectacular single moment in all of Balloon Fiesta. The Balloon Glows – followed by New Mexico’s most spectacular fireworks displays — are now among Balloon Fiesta’s most popular events.”

The 2007 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is scheduled for October 6 -14 and additional information can be found on the Balloon Fiesta website.

Celebrate long-term gay relationships! That is what Jim Brochu and Steve Schalchlin are doing in their award-winning two-man musical-comedy show, “The Big Voice: God or Merman?,” at San Francisco’s New Conservatory Theatre Center.

The San Francisco Chronicle says that Brochu and Schalchlin’s 22-year relationship are at the heart of the show. The characters are in a long-term, gay relationship but they cannot legally express the commitment to one another the way the heterosexual community can.

Ed Decker, New Conservatory Theatre Center’s artistic and executive director says, “‘Big Voice’ really is for everybody,” he adds. “Jim and Steve are a gay couple who have been together for a long time, but their life experience speaks to a universal truth of relationships and how we bond with one another and what sort of ignites our imagination, how we survive together with our friends, with our partners, with our lovers.”

“Big Voice” promises music, laughs and an honest look at long-term gay relationships. But you must act quickly. Big Voice is in previews Aug. 1-3 and runs Aug. 4-19.

By now, you know that the final installment of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books is the fastest-selling book of all time. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold a record 8.3 million copies in the U.S. within 24 hours of going on sale. But did you know plans were underway to create the magical world of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando?

That’s right - Universal Orlando Resort announced on May 31 that they will partner with Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. to create “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” in late 2009. According to Universal’s press release , visitors will be able to visit locations from the book like the village of Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and Hogwarts castle. “The plans I’ve seen look incredibly exciting, and I don’t think fans of the books or films will be disappointed,” said J.K. Rowling.

The creative design team is led by Stuart Craig, an Academy Award winning production designer. He was responsible for bringing the Harry Potter books to life in the movies and promises to remain faithful to the look and feel of the films.

I’ve heard people pine over the fact that this is the last Harry Potter book. Readers confess that they will miss the be speckled mudblood. I hope Universal’s planned attraction will help to ease the pain that Rowling’s final book may have caused you.

The series is not just for children. I saw quite a few teens and adults dressed in costume waiting to buy the book at my neighborhood Barnes and Noble. And I look forward to Orlando Gay Days 2010 where we join our GLBTQ brothers and sisters dressed as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall and all the rest of the Rowling characters we have come to love.

We always liked going to restaurants in Florida with our friend, Judy. Judy grew up on the west coast of Florida and she turned us on to the best back road restaurants. Susan Harb’s article in Sunday’s Washington Post about Cherry Pocket Steak and Seafood Shak in Lake Wales was reminiscent of those quaint old places we visited with Judy.

“The place drips with backwater charm,” describes Harb and “looks exactly like a 40-year old Old Florida fish camp should look.” If you are not so ready to abandon the good feeling you’ve had visiting Disney’s Tom Sawyer Island, why not extend the experience by making a trip to an authentic fish camp?

While the blackened and fried dinners sound great, the homemade desserts are what put “The Shak” on my list of places to visit next time I’m in Orlando.

Cherry Pocket is located only 45 minutes south of Disney World. Cherry Pocket’s website provides directions from any location.

Enjoy!

Are the crowds at Disney and Universal driving you mad? Well, why not go off the beaten path and satisfy your out-of-space curiosity and head over to the Kennedy Space Center. On May 25, 2007, the center officially opened Shuttle Launch Experience.

According to the Kennedy Space Center press release, the Shuttle Launch Experience sends the visitor through a simulation into the Earth’s orbit. The ride took three years to develop with veteran Space Shuttle astronauts, attraction experts and a design team. It utilizes modern technology to simulate the blast into orbit. Speakers under each seat help to rumble and shake the rider during the main engine ignition and air bags in the seats simulate the effect of G forces on the body during liftoff.

“It’s not a thrill ride,” said Dan LeBlanc, chief operating officer of the Visitor Complex. “You won’t be dodging asteroids or battling any aliens. We have worked hard to ensure that it is as close as you can be to simulating the reality of a Space Shuttle launch within the confines of Earth’s gravity.”

This is the first of a series of exhibits that the Space Center will launch over the next ten years to help the average visitor better understand space travel (and who knows what that will mean to the future of gay travel).

The Kennedy Space Center is located in Merritt Island, just 45 minutes from Orlando. For more information go to the Kennedy Space Center website at http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/.