I'd read that the 2008 show turned out to be a logistical nightmare, so I wanted to plan ahead and make sure we got there early to get a parking spot, and to just be patient and go with the flow the rest of the day and getting back home later.
My biggest concern was getting to one of the parking areas to be able to get a parking spot. So we got everything packed and ready, and I made a pan of biscuts and John fried some bacon the night before, and this morning we got up early, packed a cooler with jelly and apple butter and drinks, and headed out.
We got to the park where we parked plenty early enough, beating the majority of the crowds. We sat in the car and ate breakfast and then headed to the bus shuttles. Had to go through the Security Check-point, but we were early enough that weren't many people in line and got on through pretty quickly.
We rode a large Charter bus over to the Base, which I liked pretty well. Made me feel like I was a tourist on vacation somewhere.
There were all kinds of planes and displays of all sorts set up. We went inside the C-130H Hercules, and got to go up into the Cockpit and the boys sat in the Pilots seats. So cool!
The Aerial displays started around an hour after we arrived and continued pretty much non-stop for the rest of the day. Stunt planes, aerial acrobats, helicopters, a hang glider, a rocket car, fighter jets, and the Canadian Snowbirds and the Blue Angels.
I love the Blue Angels, but the fighter jets were really my favorite.
(Thanks to a camera misunderstanding, I don't have video of any of the Canadian Snowbirds or fighter jets, but I'll check John's and Ryan's and see what they have later.)
We looked around at the displays a little more, and John and Ryan rode in the Flight Simulator, then we found a spot to park our rears to watch the rest of the aerial shows. It was about an hour before the Snowbirds, I believe, so me and John left the boys to sit and watch the air shows (guard our area) while we went to grab some lunch and drinks.
A heart made by the Canadian Snowbirds:
Here's some Blue Angels video I took:
After the Angels flew the Aerial show was over, so we walked around and looked at some planes somemore, got another drink, and sacked out in the shade under the wing of a B-52 Bomber and waited until the lines for the busses got shorter.
Most of the crowds were gone when we arrived back to the car, so getting out and on our way back home was easy, too. Good deal!
To see more pictures and video, click here to visit my photo album.
