We Got Angels!

Today is the second day of practice for the participants in this weekend's Sea and Sky Spectacular. A chilly wind from the north-northeast keeps us cool in the afternoon sun as we watch the spectacle. Flocks of pelicans continue flying by as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening. Seagulls make little headway against the wind.

We watch some of the stunt flyers making curlicues of smoke in the sky. Several people have cameras and the crowd grows. Kids on bicycles. Fathers pushing strollers. Neighbors who have never really spoken to each other before this. Retirees who are likely veterans themselves.

Next is a flyby and some fancy maneuvers by "Fat Albert", the C-130 that transports the crew and gear for the Blue Angels. It finally heads back toward Mayport.

The crowd grows anxious, anticipating the stars of the event. We're looking all around for any telltale signs of the Blue Angels. Finally, someone spies a group of planes in the distant mist over the ocean to the north. The diamond grows larger before passing by us with a deafening shriek. There's no other sound in the world like the scream of an F/A-18 Hornet, and six of them together are even more impressive. The Angels do not disappoint.

Yee-hah! It's going to be a great airshow this weekend.