October 29, 2012

A Powerful Dose of Excellence.

Ok. Putting aside all political discussion of guns versus bread (as if those are our only two opposing options), the Miramar Air Show was a spectacular, over-the-top, adrenaline-boosting, testosterone-filled display of sheer power, speed, engineering ingenuity, brilliance, and all-around excellence. We were - ALL of us - in awe.
IMG_8002blue angelsIMG_7815Oh, btw, that’s the Teen pretend remote-controlling the drone … IMG_7831copterIMG_7833IMG_8022IMG_7837IMG_7854IMG_7852IMG_7845IMG_7855This giant beast below (a Harrier, I think) is demonstrating its hovering and vertical takeoff ability.  Amazing.IMG_7861IMG_7866blue angels2I stopped breathing every single time they did this.IMG_7969IMG_7884IMG_7901IMG_7936The Blue Angels really truly seriously took my breath away.  I’m pretty sure my heart stopped beating, too.  IMG_8024IMG_7916IMG_7957IMG_7988IMG_7987So the Blue Angels have this stealth trick they do that they call the “sneak attack”.  Big Dude was on high alert the whole time – he didn’t want to miss the sneak attack.  In fact, he was bound and determined to film it.  What they do is “distract” you with some awesome show of flight amazingness right in front of you – and, of course, you’re completely spell-bound.  And then, bam!  In the midst of your “distraction”, from behind you two of the jets fly right over your head.  It’s incredibly LOUD.  Super fast.  Totally unexpectedly surprising.  Guess what?  Even watching for it, we missed the sneak approach.  Behold …IMG_7973See?  Awesomeness happening in front of us …IMG_7994IMG_8027IMG_7995IMG_7996BAM!
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7 comments:

Tracy P. said...

Watch out! My nephew who was enthralled by those shows is now a Navy helicopter pilot in VA. I just messaged him to make sure he's not flying into the eye of any storms today.

These are awesome photos--at least you got the sneak attack if Big Dude didn't! The faces are priceless, and love the interactions with the personnel.

Donna Boucher said...

My favorite thing in the whole world!! We are blue angel junkies!! It's my dads fault :)
Loud. Thrilling. FUN!

Anita Johnson said...

Love these shots and I love the Blue Angels! We have seen them several times in Chicago and Milwaukee at Lakefront air shows, but my most favorite was seeing them in Pensacola during their training exercises. I can't tell you how many times i screamed! You captured the excitement here for sure!

Unknown said...

What a fun adventure. You know I can't get enough of the boys. Love them : )

The shadows are captivating.
The sky intriguing.
Fabulous as always.

BigDude said...

That stocky Osprey makes me look skinny. Almost.

Tracey said...

This whole post made me smile. Sometimes I wish we lived closer. Our families would do swimmingly together. :)

Christina said...

So awesome! We sometimes get to see jets doing some kind of maneuvers when we visit VA Beach...I love it!
Your pictures are amazing!