Pa. Man's Hot-Air Balloons At NJ Festival To Honor Post-Sandy Recovery
By Tim Jimenez
READINGTON, N.J. (CBS) -- Tens of thousands of people are expected to be looking up at a Chester County, Pa. man this weekend as he pays tribute in New Jersey to the shore's recovery from Hurricane Sandy.
For Barry DiLibero of Chester Springs, Pa., there's only one way to go, and that's up.
"For the most exquisite way to fly, you want to fly in a balloon," he tells KYW Newsradio.
This weekend, DiLibero and his wife will take their passion for hot-air balloons to the annual New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, at Soleberg Airport in Hunterdon County, which is expected to bring 165,000 visitors.
DiLibero is alternately piloting two balloons during the festival: a five-story American flag he designed after 9/11, and one called "Flighthouse" (photo), a 115-foot-tall lighthouse design honoring efforts to restore the shore.
"Because, I'll tell you, the shore is an important thing to everybody. Not only is it a great family vacation destination point, it is what New Jersey is recognized for," DiLibero says.
And Barry says he'll get the same thrill this weekend that he gets every time he's in the air:
"It's absolutely magical. It's like when you dreamed of flying as a child."
