Dreamin' on the cheap

I was completely captivated by a story in the news about a guy who tied a bunch of big helium balloons to his lawn chair and flew to Idaho. Almost. He didn't get quite that far (from Oregon) but he flew almost 200 miles.

Maybe he couldn't afford a hot air balloon ride?

He was copying a guy in LA who managed to get 3 miles up in the air in a similar conveyance - and got fined by the FAA when an airline pilot reported to air traffic control that he'd just passed a guy flying a lawn chair.

Or, remember the story of the grandpa who drove his lawn tractor across country because he wanted to visit his brother and that was the only means at his disposal?

I am just in awe at the determination and ingenuity of John Q Public - to reach the most amazingly conceived goals on next to nothing.

People astonish me.