This past weekend was the annual air show here in San Antonio--this time at Randolph Air Force Base. The boys were very excited to go and enjoyed it very much. Not so much when the F-15 did a full afterburner takeoff right in front of us, but they enjoyed everything else. That was really the only super-loud thing this time around. I reminded me of last year when we were treated to several afterburner passes that shook our insides and Charles turned to me and said, "when is that plane that keeps tricking us going to LAND?!?!" This one was a lot more relaxed (read: boring). It's been about 55 hours since we left the base and Joseph hasn't stopped talking about it and flying his little fighter jets around the house.
Here are some pictures:
Here are the boys enjoying the show. Notice our killer spot right on the flight line.
It gave us a good chance to see the planes up close and personal (a little too close for their liking, at times). But cool to see the Air Force heritage flight come by close.
And to see the F-15 rolling by right in front of us. (Notice the guys--I call them Air Show Nerds--that insist on wedging themselves between little kids and the fence so they can take pictures with their gigantic lenses to upload to their nerdy message boards and discuss the air show with other nerds. Yes, that is an approximately 60-year-old man waving to the pilot.)
The flight displays were pretty good at the air show, but the boys enjoyed the static displays even more (maybe because their engines weren't on?).
Hanging out the door of a C-17 Globemaster III.
On the tarmac with a B-52 Stratofortress behind them.
We really had to back up for this plane--and I still cut off the tail and the wing! The C-5 Galaxy.
Sitting in the rear portion of a Huey.
And piloting the Huey.
Posing in front of an F-16 Fighting Falcon with a curious paint scheme.
Inside one of the more rare statics, a CV-22 Osprey
Another shot on the tarmac, this time in front of the C-17 Globemaster and the RC-135 Rivet Joint.
About 20 yards behind where we sat for the entire show, the F-22 Raptor.
In front of the B-17 Flying Fortress.
And finally, taking a picture with the pilot of a T-38 Talon.
11 comments:
Love the pictures. It looks like you guys had a really fun time. Tell the boys I still get scared when I see the blue angels!! They come out of nowhere and they're so loud. hahah
FUN FUN FUN!!! Looks like you all had a blast!!
=D
Oh yeah Ashley well you never got buzzed when they were approaching their fly over the crowd when you were out in a field in Arizona and about peed your pants! Those are great seats Joe! Did you have to wait for a while or glare at numerous Air Show Nerds so they wouldn't cut in front of you? The F-22 still amazes me. It looks unreal, all of the sharp edges for stealth. Glad the boys had a fun time and that you were able to get out of other duties ;)
Get out of other duties? . . .I wish.
Remember what was happening back at our house when you called? We got home and Liz had torn half the carpet out of the living room. No more procrastinating that project I guess.
Liz, you've been tagged. Go to our blogg if you need to know the rules.
That reminds me so much of the 6 years we lived on AF bases! After round the clock take-offs of f-15, f-16, b-1, b-2, and tankers...your kids become very sound sleepers. (In Mnt. Home our house was quite close to the runway and the windows would shake for every take-off and landing.) The boys looked like they had a blast!
I am jealous...all those years that we all went to the various air shows (and Mom, like Liz, often stayed home -- but she usually didn't tear up a carpet..) and now you guys are going without me! But it's OK, I couldn't go now anyway, the commute would be too hard. Jon seems to remember vividly his experience at, or near, Williams Air base in Arizona, or maybe he is exaggerating. But fun anyway. And, even though it is very yesterday, no fighter is as loud as the F-4 Phantom at full power, even without ABs. Thanks for the post.
Love,
Dad
HEY! I can't believe we can see your post and actually comment now. I didn't know or I would have been commenting. Now we just need to get Kristy's fixed for China. This is GREAT!
Great post. I remember how loud these air shows are and how tirelessly Dad took you all to them, even without me after a number of years. And, Liz, great job on getting the project to the top of the list. :)
Wow - good to see you guys are able to comment, although I'm not quite sure how. I had set out to install Dave's workaround by publishing to an ftp server on the kewish.net domain, but the publishing failed and I set it back to the default. As far as I can tell, the URL is not being redirected and it is still a blogger address. Hmmm, can you guys still comment now?
Oh, and by the way, Liz and finished tearing up all the carpet, removing the tack strips, and scraping some of the glue, but the other half of the room we are putting wood floor in has tile that we have to break up and remove. Our plastic scrapers will probably not work for this. Plus, I spent Tuesday night in the ER with a severely dislocated shoulder that is still immobilized and hurts a LOT. Then, Liz and Tori and I are supposed to catch a flight tomorrow for a wedding in Laguna Beach, but I can't pick up anything with my left arm. On top of that, we were put suddenly under the gun at work to get two investment packages done by tomorrow because our boss is going to Europe on vacation, so I've been working non-stop, typing with one arm. So, needless to say, the flooring project has slipped down a few notches, but our living room is unlivable, so I'm sure it will jump up again next week. Oy vey.
Hi again, YES...I guess it is a China thing. We can get into Kristy's too. So, since we came and now, we can get into a URL with blog in it, it appears. Hopefully, it will last.
Wow! I LOVE wood floors, but what a project. Liz told me about your shoulder...OUCH! Living with your father and his shoulder situation, I know how horribly painful that is...especially if it goes for a time without being reset. And, you need to let it heal.
So, I hope you told/tell Ryan congrats from Dad and I.
Take care, we will try to get ahold of Joey this morning after Dad wakes up...it's just past 5 AM now.
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