Blue Angels Redux

My friend just uploaded the remainder of the Blue Angels photos. These were taken on August 2, 2008 by my friend, Danny. You can view the full set here.

Seattle Visit: Day 2

The morning of our first full day in Seattle started off with walking Mike's dog, Rufus. He's about 120 lbs but absolutely the gentlest dog you'd ever meet. Once in a while his two feline housemates annoy him, which prompts a big paw smacking against the floor. Other than that, he's just a big softie.
We drove into Seattle and picked up our friend, Hannah. After getting some sandwiches at a local supermarket deli we drove across I-90 to Mercer Island.
We parked near the off-ramp and had an impromptu picnic on a grassy field that sits over top of the freeway.

The police closed the I-90 bridge at 12:45pm and then let all the pedestrians and bicyclists on a few minutes later. From there we watched the forthcoming air show.








I love my Canon G9 camera but with just a 6X optical zoom it was ill-equipped to properly capture these magnificent airplanes flying by at very fast velocities. In my earlier posting I've published some of the photos Mike shot with his 200 - 400mm zoom lens.

The most amazing thing about the airshow is how incredibly loud the planes are when they fly overhead at lower altitudes. When they're really motoring, it sounds like the air is literally being split apart. I'd never seen an airshow before and was so impressed that I'd like to make this an annual event!

After the show we dropped off Hannah and then joined some others at the P.F. Chang's at Bellevue Square. Not exactly a traditional Asian meal but the atmosphere and food are always top notch.

Later in the evening we drove downtown so that Danny could join Hannah and her friend for the midnight release of Stephenie Meyer's new book. I'm not familiar with this author but apparently she's all the rage with 15 year-old girls.
While the young ones were waiting at the Barnes & Noble, Mike & I met up with my friend, Ahmed. The three of us enjoyed some great desserts at The Cheesecake Factory.
A long day but a very memorable one!

Blue Angels in Seattle

Here are some fantastic photos of the Blue Angels taken by my friend, Mike, with his Canon digital SLR and his 200 - 400mm Zoom lens. They were shot from the I-90 off ramp to Mercer Island, in the center of Lake Washington. A crowd of a thousand or so people had gathered to watch this amazing feat of technology and aviator skill. At times the noise was deafening but the entire performance could be summed up in one word: AWESOME You can view the entire set of Mike's photos here.




I must add that on the drive down yesterday there was a discussion on the radio with some Metrosexual Ultra-Liberal Politically Correct Capitol Hill resident that the Blue Angels should not be allowed to perform in Seattle. This girly-man was nothing short of pathetic, citing issues of safety and wasting oil. He outright lied when he said that 50% of Seattle residents agree with him. The #1 thing that likely irks him the most was the profound demonstration of American military power on display by the Blue Angels. Somehow this gave me extra pleasure to watch them! :-)