NOLA: day 1 in pictures

Blue Angels Edited Post

We don't have the luxury of a computer at home, let alone editing software, so I rarely have the privilege of editing my photos.  However, last night I decided to spend some quality time at the CVS photo center; I had lots of fun & thought these were a lot more visually appealing than the original ones.

Pensacola Beach

It's obvious why this is known as The Emerald Coast.  The water is a gorgeous clear green. 

It was important to us to spend some time enjoying these waters & this beach before the oil slick messes things up royally.  It was predicted to hit within 72 hours after we left. 

A very sore topic for the locals as one can imagine. 

Blue Angels

Truly amazing to witness the precision, power & acrobatics of these pilots.  Norm, the dude guiding us thru the show made sure we were clear that "the Blue Angels do manuevers, the Air Force Thunderbirds do tricks." It was crazy to know that if they exceeded 700 mph that they would blow our ear drums out.  Still, I couldn't bring myself to plug my ears when they flew low... there was something exhiliarating about the noise, just that sheer power.  By far our favorite attraction. 

We also got to play Pilot & Radar Interceptor Officers a.k.a. "Maverick & Goose" in Top Gun Air Combat Simulators. Zane tested his flying skills inside the cockpit of a Navy F-14 Tomcat.   They were updating the technology & hadn't really worked out the kinks yet, so it wasn't as cool as Zane had hoped, but still fun to talk aviator slang to each other on headsets.  Also cool to see what it feels like to be in a cockpit when the door shuts & see what a pilots visibility is like. 

Memorial Day 2010

                             

The first time i've actually seen how massive the atomic bomb actually was.

We spent a good chunk of the day walking thru the National Museum Of Naval Aviation. 

It was a good place to be on a day for remembering those who have fought for our freedom. 

Zane was in his happy place all day long, as he dreamed of flying.  We both agreed that it was cool to sit inside real cockpits & get a feel for how small that space actually is. 

Pensacola Bound

Our first time back on I-10 since we moved to Florida 3 years & 2 months ago. Oh the memories!  

It rained most of the way there.  I observed that it always seems to rain when we go on road trips.  Zane reminded me that we live in Florida, therefore it just always rains.  Point taken.

We drove by corn fields.  Mixed with the rain, it made the air smelled sweet & earthy.