Blue Angels Air Show: Traverse City

Yes, this is the photo that says it all. It was a beautiful day and I was in the perfect spot to enjoy the Blue Angels air show. You need to know that this photo is unedited. I aimed my iPhone to the sky and this is the photo I captured - I was thrilled when I saw that you could read U.S. Navy on each plane. Wahoo! 

I have been watching the Blue angels perform at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan since the late 1990's. My paternal grandmother loved the Blue Angels and I have great memories of driving into the town with my parents and Nama, excited to watch the air show from a parking lot. Back then, we watched from the intersection of M-72 and M-22 (W Grandview Parkway). We didn't take many pictures because it was the era of film and the pictures rarely worked out. 

The Blue Angels tend to perform to Traverse City every other year. When I'm in Michigan, my friends and I meet for lunch and viewing (just north of our old spot) at Harrington's By The Bay. The food is delicious and the location is ideal to watch the show.

I found this great YouTube video of the Blue Angels flying at the National Cherry Festival this year posted by TRYPlaneSpotting. It is nothing short of spectacular.

#blueangels #airshow #blueangelsairshow #momentsofdelight #traversecitymi #puremichigan #summer2018 

How On Earth!: The Blue Angels Thrill Seattle

Speechless! I was downright speechless when I saw my beloved Blue Angels power across the Seattle sky in this formation. 

I had a such great afternoon during the Thursday practice show on August 3rd. Someone had suggested I check out Proctor Landing as a possible vantage point. When I arrived, the police told me that it was one of their temporary headquarters and sent me down the way to Slater Park. Boy am I glad they did!

As I was looking for a parking spot, I started talking to an older gentleman who was leaving his car. We talked about the Blue Angels for a minute and then I started walking toward the beach with my chair and camera. "You're going the wrong way!" he called after me. Huh? "The good beach is that way...put your stuff down next to the U of W chair, that's us." 

And there you have it. Another example of kindness from the strangers I have experienced in Seattle. For the rest of the afternoon, I chatted with Bob, Sue and Vincent. They were all Washington natives and had found this new spot after their old Seafair haunt became inaccessible. We all agreed that Slater Park was perfect. It's a patch of green tucked among the beautiful homes and has a perfect place to let your kids play in Lake Washington. I couldn't have invented a better photo (below) if I tried. Happy days are here again.

Sue asked if I liked living in Washington, as she handed me her sunscreen. Vincent tried to relate by telling me a harrowing story of the time he drove thru Michigan in the winter. And when the air show was over, Bob insisted that I tuck my camping chair into his rolling cart so that I didn't have to haul it up the hill. Kindness, and dare I say a familial warmth, that I find over and over again "out here." 

Yes, living 2,000 miles away is a big adjustment, but the citizens of Seattle have been rewarding me for my effort.

*And the Blue Angels fly over Lake Washington EVERY year! I count myself lucky.

Blue Angels Air Show: Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July, indeed! My all time favorite July 4th activity is watching The Blue Angels air show in Traverse City.  The Blue Angels come to the Traverse City National Cherry Festival every other year (although they didn't come in 2012 due to federal budget cuts) and they never cease to amaze.

They center their show over Grand Traverse Bay (above).

They fly in a 6-plane formation against the bright blue summer sky.

How is this formation possible?  The formations and proximity to each other blow my mind.  I love it. Love it. Love it. Love it.

Look at this awesome drive by (above) where you can see the pilots!

Look how close the 4 planes are to each other. I don't even want them to fly that close. 

When I went onto the Blue Angel website to give you a link, I noticed that they now have videos that you can watch to see 3 views of each special maneuver: inside the cockpit, from the ground and the pilot saying the verbal cues.

You really must go to one of their air shows if you can.  And wear ear plugs, it will be louder than you think.  But you'll love it. Love it. Love it. Love it.

Blue Angels

Wow. wow. wow. Seriously. You know how I love the Blue Angels and once again they put on a fantastic air show at this year's National Cherry Festival in Traverse City.

I went to the air show twice (Friday & Saturday) and loved every minute of it.

On Saturday, I also went to the official NMC Aviation Pancake Breakfast at Cherry Capital Airport with some of my friends and was able to meet one of the Blue Angel pilots. Lieutenant Jim Tomaszeski flys in position #2 (in photo above, second row, plane on right) and spoke to the group about having big dreams, the importance of time management and his favorite part of life as a Blue Angel, being a positive role model and goodwill ambassador for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. It was a great speech and the applause were loud!

I have a cute Blue Angels story for you. One Christmas Eve, my entire family was exchanging presents and I was handed a small odd-shaped tissue-wrapped gift. When I opened it, I was amused to find a metal replica of the Blue Angels F-18 Hornet. My three nephews (approximately 8, 6, 4 years old at the time) were sure that I had been given the wrong package and that this model plane was for them.

"Oh no, boys," I said, "this gift is definitely for me."

I keep my model plane in my office and it reminds me of how much fun it is to have a life full of varied interests.

Happy 4th of July

My goal was to get The Blue Angels and the American flag in the same picture. I lined up my shot and patiently waited for the planes to fly by. They are F/A 18 Hornets - so fast it is hard to compose a shot at all.

In my wildest dreams, I never thought that the wind would blow the flag "just so" and that the planes and jet stream would line up with the stars and stripes! This is one of my favorite photos.

Wishing you a delightful 4th of July.

The Blue Angels

The Blue Angels put on a magnificent airshow this year at the National Cherry Festival. Watching from a pier on Grand Traverse Bay, I could see every maneuver perfectly. 

It is said that The Blue Angels fly in formation 18 inches apart! Look how close they are in my photo above. 500,000 people visit the 8-day festival and I stood with my camera among the thousands of spectators enjoying the show. I had a "special event ticket" to watch the air show from the pier while enjoying a gourmet picnic of wine and local fare. The chefs offered cherry bar-b-cue chicken, pulled pork with cherry glaze and a chocolate brownie studded with dried cherries & walnuts. Yum. 

My favorite thing that happened? A ten-year-old boy with a camera walked up to me after a particularly close fly-by, gestured to my camera and said "What'd ya get?" So, photographer-to-photographer, we compared our best shots and agreed that The Blue Angels were "cool."