Sky Lanterns at night, on the beach

My brother, Bill, and his wife, Jill, invited us to watch them put their last three sky lanterns aloft last night. They are rice paper lanterns, about 3′ high, and 18″ diameter, with a small rectangular piece of paraffin soaked cardboard, suspended just inside the bottom of the lantern. The paraffin is ignited, and the lantern held upright, until enough heat gives it the lift it needs. They were mesmerizing, rising above the bay, reflecting the flame you could see through the thin rice paper. We watched them until they were just a tiny speck in the sky.