Thunderstruck

Once again this weekend I found myself in Ogden.  Last week I was running a marathon.  This week I was at an air show.  Last weekend it was hot.  This weekend it was not.  I wanted to be to Hill Air Force base in time to see the opening flag ceremony.  So I got the kids up and reminded them to dress warm, including long pants and jackets.  Of course, I should have stipulated that the girls needed socks and shoes, because as soon as we arrived on base I found that Samantha and Bean both wore shoes and no socks.  And it was raining.  And cold.

Despite the rocky start everyone had a good time.  We stayed until close, and saw all of the performances.  And we barely had time to tour all of the planes the kids wanted to see.

The main attraction for everyone was the Air Force F-16 Thunderbirds.  And while they put on a great show, I was more excited to see a P-51 Mustang and an F-16 Falcon fly side by side.  My two favorite aircraft.

Each time we were able to sit in the cockpits Patrick peppered the pilots with questions, and though he never stumped them, I did get a comment from a pilot on how astute the young man is.

At one point we had to take shelter under the tail of an A-10 as we waited for a hail storm to pass.  (Patrick even got his finger stuck in the seven barrel rotary cannon in the nose of that same A-10).  Once the weather cleared it warmed up nicely, and we had perfect conditions for the Thunderbird presentation.

I tried my best to get good footage of the show, but I was painfully reminded of how hard it is to keep your hands steady while zooming in for good close-ups.  If you vomit while watching the video, I am sorry.

Of course, when we entered the hangar to look at the displays, Mr. P zeroed right in on the guns.

The performances were grand, with stalls, 4-point and 8-point rolls and barrel rolls all executed to perfection.  And of course we had the pleasure of seeing my good friends with AirMed.  A good time was had by all, and we will definitely be going back next time.