Halloween 2010

All weekend long, Andrew could think of little more than Trick or Treating. As the sun dropped below the trees, his excitement was almost too much to handle. We sent him to his room to get prepared and out walked a Star Wars Clone Trooper.

The neighbors were having a get together, complete with tent, food, beer, movie projector, and inflatable movie screen. Andrew waited impatiently for the neighbor kids to finish their pizza so he could join them in candy collection. In the meantime, another neighbor showed him an awesome bubble maker. This kept Andrew busy for over 20 minutes.

After the kids left, I had a few beers with the neighbor, who was now dressed as Mario. His buddy was dressed as Luigi. They were both in character and having a great time tormenting the kids that stopped by. He gave me a clean room uniform to wear, complete with booties and head gear, so I wasn't alone without a costume. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin was playing on the big screen. It was funny watching all the kids stop by the screen and watch for a few minutes before continuing on their way.

I was surprised by the number of kids that stopped by. I started handing out two items each, but soon realized that I would run out at that rate, so I cut back to one each. Even so, I ran out after about an hour.

Just as the heat of the suit overwhelmed me and I took off the head gear, the kids returned. I was hoping to surprise Andrew with a big hug. Maybe next year...

Wings and Waves Air Show 2010

Yesterday, Susan sent me an IM about an air show this weekend. I was surprised, since I usually know about these things months in advance, but not this time. She sent me a link to the Wings and Waves Air Show at Daytona Beach.

We tried to get an early start, but as usual, things didn’t work out as well as we planned. The show was scheduled to start at 11:00, so we figured that leaving by 8:00 would give us plenty of time to drive up, find a decent parking spot, and still have time to carry our chairs, umbrella, and snacks to the beach. Andrew was awake and playing on Google Earth before 7:00, but we were still trying to get a few more winks. We didn’t do too bad; we were on the road by 9:00.

Once off the interstate, the traffic started to build. As we crawled along, we found ourselves in a lane that was merging ahead. To avoid the squeeze point, we jumped out of line and into the Bank of America drive thru to grab some cash, then entered traffic again from the intersection – this time, in the correct lane.

We arrived at the beach at 10:45. By the time we paid to park and gathered our stuff, the show was just getting underway. The show started with Cheryl Stearns parachuting down to the beach with the American flag as two planes encircled her with their smoke billowing.

We quickly walked to the beach and set up camp. The tide was in, so there wasn't much room between the boardwalk and the water, so we were packed in tight, but we were practically at show center and had a PA speaker right behind us. As far as I'm concerned, we had the best seats in the house.

The show started with a rescue demonstration from the U.S. Coast Guard. They tossed a mannequin into the surf, then a swimmer jumped in and rescued him.

The show continued with one great performance after another. I enjoyed each of them, but the one I really came to see was the F-22 Raptor. Although performing at air shows for years, I had yet to witness one first hand. The F-22 pilot put on an amazing show, doing things that jets just shouldn't be able to do. Thanks to its thrust vectoring system, the F-22 can go from high speed to low speed and reverse course quickly and easily. It can also turn circles in a horizontal plane while descending, enabling it to acquire targets in any direction.

I was impressed by Mike Goulian's performance. He is a well known pilot, primarily known for his competition in the the Red Bull Air Race series. His aerobatics were incredibly crisp and sharp.

One of the more moving moments was provided by the Heritage Flight. The Heritage Flight is a formation of old and new Air Force planes. For this show, it consisted of a P-51 Mustang, an F-16 Viper, and an F-22 Raptor.

Meanwhile, Andrew was busy having fun in his own way. The beach is such a perfect location for an air show for families. Andrew splashed in the water, played in the "orange" sand, and even went for a ride on the ferris wheel.

The most surprising and pleasing performance was the Snowbirds. Years ago, the Snowbirds performed at Seafair in Seattle, WA, in lieu of the usual Blue Angels, who were not scheduled due to the FAA shutting down the show over the lake for safety reasons. After years of watching the Blues rip across the sky at low altitude, the Snowbirds' artistic show left many feeling unsatisfied. This year, however, I had no expectations. I sat back and watched the performance with new eyes. The formations were tight and changed frequently from nine planes, to groups of seven, four, and two. The artistry was beautiful to watch as it slowly evolved across the sky. I was very impressed with their performance and hope to see them again.

Click the link to view the Slide Show of all performers.