It's bird, it's a plane...no really, it's a plane.

Today's adventure took us to the Jacksonville Air Show. I woke up early and by some stroke of luck managed to get showered, get dressed, and even have a cup of coffee before the baby woke up. Thankfully, he woke up in a happy and cooperative mood, so after changing him and getting him dressed, I sent him up the stairs of big brother's bunk bed to wake up the big guy. After a quick breakfast and packing of gear necessary to survive the air show and still be in compliance with what we were allowed to bring in, we were off. We sat in traffic for a solid 30 minutes just to get into the base and then another solid 45 minutes waiting in line to go through the metal detectors to get in. But we had some nice conversations with the people in line around us and since the show started while we were still waiting, we had some entertainment watching the skydivers and some of the trick planes. We enjoyed watching Patty Wagstaff fly, which is cool for Isaac (my 6yo) because she is interviewed and shown in the Blue Angels DVD that he watches incessantly. She is also based in St. Augustine, only about 45 minutes from us. And we got to see the rocket truck. Finally we got through the line and into the show.

The first thing I asked Isaac was, "Okay, what planes do you want to go see first?" My common sense, no nonsense 6yo replies, "I guess we should see what's available first." Point well taken, kiddo. It ended up that the bounce houses and such distracted him first, so we went off and bounced  and slid for a little while, then waited in line for the trampolines before he got tired of the line and was ready to move on.  We looked at a few planes, but since they didn't allow anyone to go IN them, it was the helicopters that grabbed his attention the most. (And given the choice between pilot or co-pilot side, he chose pilot. That's my boy.)

And of course, whatever big brother does, Liam must do also.

Then we found the big planes and discovered the lines were horrendously long, including for the P-3. We can see a P-3 anytime, so we went into a cargo plane, which was great because we went up the rear ramp instead of me having to drag my 27 pounder up a ladder and back down. We decided to go grab some lunch so we could get through the lines before the Blue Angels went up. However, right about that time the F-18 Super Hornet went up, and the noise was just too much for Isaac, even with ear plugs (Liam kept removing his, not to anyone's surprise). Isaac announced he was ready to go home and Liam was cranky and ready for a nap. Liam had had enough sun and 15mph wind. So we left before the Blues did their show. We did stop at the t-shirt table before we left to pick Isaac up a new Blue Angels shirt, since he has just about outgrown his old one. He talked me into a hat as well. I honestly think that getting a new shirt was his ultimate goal, thus he left happy. Oh, and we ran into a Blue Angels crew member in the crowd and talked him out of a poster ;) Apparently we wore the baby out, because he was snoring on the way home.

 And now I hear the Blues flying over the house. Isaac still wants to fly Fat Albert when he grows up.


Because I can't resist:
A pilot recruit shows up for training and chooses helicopters over airplanes. When asked why he chose helicopters, he responds, "Helicopters are so powerful that they beat the air into submission." The instructor, being more of a fan of planes, replies, "No. Helicopters are so ugly, the earth repels them." That's all I could think of when my kids were in the helo :)