Houses and Airplanes

Today was a long day out. The day started early with a 9:00 appointment with a real estate agent. We scheduled tours of three houses in one neighborhood. Two were absolutely gorgeous, and one was not even in the same league. We also looked at another house in the same neighborhood the day before.

After our tours, we headed south to the Valkaria Airport. We were planning to eat pancakes, but we showed up five minutes too late. Right inside the gate, we found a set of inflatables with an all-day pass going for only $12, so we bought a tick for Andrew. As he climbed the ‘Space Shuttle’ slide, I sniffed out the barbeque stand and picked up a pulled pork platter with baked beans and cole slaw.

The air show got under way at 1:00 with Patty Wagstaff as the main attraction. There were several other entertainers, including a Yak, a gyro-copter, a team of RV's, an Albatross jet, a T-6 Texan, and a Piper Cub. As the show was underway, we walked along the fence near the flight line and found a seat in the grass. We noticed that they had biplane rides and helicopter rides for sale, so Andrew and I walked over to inquire about prices. They were reasonably cheap, but for very short rides.

During the show, we walked up and down the ramp, looking at all the exhibits. One that Andrew found extremely interesting had live animals. Finally, Andrew got to see - and touch - live alligators. They were only about two feet long, and they had their mouths taped shut. He also got to touch a bunny, guinea pigs, many different kinds of snakes, and a dragon.

After the air show acts, Andrew did the bungee bouncer. While waiting in line, he told us that he wanted to jump, but he didn’t want to do any flips. When he finally got his turn, he stayed true to his word and didn’t try to do a back flip.

After another bite to eat, Andrew and I discussed our plans with Susan. We decided to go ahead and do the helicopter ride. We hurried back to the flight line, bought our tickets, and waited our turn. While waiting, we discussed who wanted to sit where. Andrew wanted the front, so that’s where he sat. The ride was very short, but we all had fun. Andrew, as expected, was very excited after the flight.

After the show, we headed back to Melbourne for a break from the airport. We found a McDonald’s with a Play Place and promised to return after the night show.

Back at the airport, we watched the the twilight show, then enjoyed watching two hot air balloons rise to their full height. Not only were they fun to watch and beautiful to look at, they were also putting off a lot of heat!

On the way back to Play Place, we had some unexpected excitement. As we left the airport towards Route 1, the crossing gates started to drop as we were crossing the tracks. I gunned it to get across as I looked down the tracks and saw three lights heading our way. On the other side, I stopped so we could watch it go by. Turns out it was the Tropicana Juice train. We took off towards Melbourne to chase the train to the next crossing. Half way there, we were back in lead. As we entered town, our attention was diverted to an emergency near the tracks. There were at least two fire trucks and who knows how many police cars and ambulances. There was also a train stopped on the tracks. We pulled off the road and walked toward the tracks beside the train bridge. Meanwhile, a helicopter circled overhead, shining its light downward while a police boat slowly cruised the river. The word is that some kids were walking across the bridge when a train came. Unfortunately, the bridge has no walkway, so we can only assume the worst.

UPDATE: The news report says that three teenage girls were hit and killed by the train.