On Saturday, I went to the MCAS Cherry Point Air Show. I never met an air show I didn't like, and this was no exception.
Below is my favorite picture from the show. If you want to let little bey boys have fun, let them play with weapons. They had weapons on the ground and in turrents, and every one of them had kids clambering to play. What a great recruiting tool for Marines. In one place they had six machine guns in a line on the ground. There were 5 boys laying down behind them going rat-a-tat-tat. 5 mothers watched uncomfortably. At the sixth machine gun, there was a girl having just as much fun as the boys. Her mother looked absolutely horrified. :-)
My favorite aircraft from the show, Kevin Coleman's Extra 300. This stunt plane did stunts I've never seen before, and never expected to see. It was really amazing. My photos of it are inadequate. Below is a scale model Extra 300.
I also got to see the infamous F35B, star of the show. In South Burlington, Vermont where Jenny lives, there is a huge controversy about letting the Vermont ANG switch from F16s to F35s. The controversy is about noise. Now that I've seen a F35 take off and land right in front of me, I can tell you it is quieter than a F16. In vertical take offs it is whisper quiet compared to a Harrier, and even quieter than a helicopter.
But my secondary story was about my trip to the show. Dave offered to let us borrow his car. We declined. Nick was going to come from Fort Bragg to watch the show with us (and to give us a ride) but at the last minute, Nick nad to back out. So, determined to see the show, I rode my bike.
Saturday I rode my (single speed) bike 38 miles (61 km) and walked 6 miles (10 km) to see that show. My previous personal record for a bike ride was 10 miles, so it was quite a leap. It took me 1.5 hours to bike to the airfield, but 3 hours to bike back against a 10 knot head wind. Whew, I was really exhausted at the end of the day. But this morning, I'm not stiff. I guess there are some miles left in this 69 year old body.
Seriously, I wisely invested money wisely in a 3 month membership at Keys Fitness in Marathon. I averaged 12 hours per week working out. One year ago I was afraid to walk the trail to the bottom of the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon because I was afraid that I couldn't get back up without help. I think it is fair to say, that I've come a long way since then. The villain was owning a car during the 2012-2013 winter.
My favorite plane was always the DeHavilland Super Chipmunk. I think it was Art Scholl I watched many times as a kid pull some awesome stunts with that plane.
ReplyDeleteThose pics of kids with the guns is very disturbing. I know we did the same as kids with toy guns, playing army and cops and robbers, but to have the soldiers there with the actual weapons for the kids to play with is wrong. Parents and the Marines are in bad form here.
Paul
SV Kelly Nicole
The villain is not the car. The villain is lack of motivation and comittment to a regular routine of exercising. People with boats,planes and cars etc can all be guilty of this.Owning a car is simply an excuse. I have two cars, three boats and two kayaks but committed to daily exercise over 15 years ago and stick to it no matter where I happen to be. It has helped keep me young over the years (watching a grandson every day in the winter is also a big plus). Congratulations on your routine and I wish you fair winds and following seas on your journey north.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Jerry and Phyllis are making their annual trip to Maine early this year. We're meeting them for dinner in Boothbay on July 11th. If you're sailing in the area feel free to join us!!