Awesome Day Out, Part 1: AIRPLANES!!! WATER!!

I think Aaron and I were probably the best-behaved kids ever in airports--no running around screaming or endless "I'm boooorrrrrred!!" whining from us. No, Aaron and I could spend all day watching the airplanes take off and land.

We were born to an Air Force officer, after all.

From time to time, I have fascinating discussions with my dad that consist of me asking a ton of questions about airports, airplanes, and air traffic control and him spewing his considerable knowledge of these things, and usually some cool anecdotes from his Air Force days thrown in for grins.

Air travel fascinates me.

Just think--100 years ago, flight was still new.  We didn't have air forces and airliners. No 747s, no trans-Atlantic jaunts.

Think about it. How far air travel has come in 107 years. And think about what it takes to hurtle a huge metal tube with a couple of wings stuffed full of fuel, a fuselage stuffed with people and their tons and tons of stuff, a few ready-to-eat meals and endless bags of pretzels, and to take all that dead weight and actually get it off the ground. I'm not a big fan of physics but that is damned impressive.

Anyway, all this rambling is my lead-in to an awesome day out I had with Summer today. A few weeks ago she told me she had an event she had to attend for work in Burlingame, just south of San Francisco. If I was up for hanging out at the hotel for an hour, we could go to Half Moon Bay when she was done and bum around that darling little town.

My immediate response was, "Count me in! OCEAN FIX!!"

She mentioned that the hotel was on the water, and figured I'd be perfectly happy hanging around, taking pictures, for that hour while she attended to business. The hotel had a Starbucks. When we pulled into the parking lot, I realized it also had something much, much cooler: a front-row-seat view of three of the runways at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

I was like a kid in a candy shop, about ten seconds from jumping up and down in place and squealing, "Airplanes! AIRPLANES!!" I only just managed to refrain because ten years of friendship leaves me unwilling to embarrass Summer like that.

Summer just smiled at me. "I figured you'd like being near the water."

"YES! And airplanes, Summer! I love watching airplanes take off and land!" Turns out this is something she didn't know about me.

Summer left to attend to her business inside, and I set off towards a small public path, just in time to see a taxiing airplane turn and take position for take-off. The plane was still and quiet, waiting for clearance. When clearance was given, a mighty roar blasted from the engines and the plane accelerated down the runway and hurtled into the sky. I giggled and watched with some awe--it doesn't matter how many times I have flown in my life (a lot), I still have so much awe and respect for the pure art of a plane that is leaving land and climbing into the sky.

I took a couple of videos, not caring that people on the path behind me could hear me narrating them as I filmed. The first one is four minutes long and focuses on one plane as it taxis and takes off. Another plane landed on the next runway over while I watched. Pardon my cheesy, "Hell. Yeah." as the plane starts to accelerate. I couldn't help myself.



The second video is short but sweet--one plane landing, another taking off.



I also took a ton of still shots, of course, some with a certain little rubber duck, in honor of my Swimmy friends. (Sparty Swimmy of Michigan met Timmy Swimmy of England in London yesterday. Israeli Swimmy went out in NYC today, and I don't know what Eendje--Dutch for "duck"--Swimmy was up to. Cali Swimmy and I had a grand time.)

Looking towards SFO

Mr. Swimmy

Landing

This plane was taking off.

Silly Girl with Duck and Blue Hair (clip-in extensions)

Silly Girl Who Doesn't Care Who Might Be Watching

Swimmy is wistful--he can't fly.

Yay, sign pictures!

The cold drove me indoors for a few minutes, where Swimmy and I enjoyed some hot chocolate.

Then it was back outside--thank goodness I had my Keane scarf!

Lift-off!

Taxiing

After my Starbucks stop, I stayed close to the part of the hotel where I'd seen a bunch of professionally-dressed people, figuring that's where I'd eventually find Summer. Sure enough, after an hour or so of plane-watching, I heard, "Hey, there you are!" Summer changed from business clothes to jeans and shortly after that, we were on our way to Half Moon Bay, which is, of course, where the next post will start.