Air and Water Show 2011

Last weekend was the Chicago Air and Water show. Like usual, they do their show on North Beach but fly north and south to turn around. And they turn around right over our house. We've really enjoyed it these past fiew years, and this year we were afraid there wasn't going to be a show. It poured on saturday, right in the middle of the show. We stared at the water coming down in sheets, chanting 'rain, rain, go away, come again another day.'

Fortunately, it did. And DH got some great pictures, like always. Enjoy!

2010 Chicago Air and Water Show

The Air and Water Show is back!  The Blue Angels flew over our house again, screaming away and rattling the windows.  At least they scared the psycho pigeons into their little hide-y-holes...

DH was out once again with his camera, and got some great pics.  Again.  :)  So, enjoy.

Youngest was again unflappable by the sights and the noise.  I put cotton in his ears, but it fell out and he didn't even notice.  Oldest still can't stand the noise so we put some noise-dampening headphones on him.  After that, he was fine and very excited about the show.  First time ever.

The show is pretty much the same each year, but the planes are so cool that I don't get tired of it.  I suppose I would if they were flying over my house all the time, but I really enjoy seeing them practice for two days, and then see the actual show.  One day, we might actually venture to the beach where we can see the full performance, but so far it's been fun to hang out at home.  And escape into the air conditioning when it's brutally hot (like it was for this show).

Until next year...

Chicago Air and Water Show

Like last year, the planes and jets in the Chicago Air and Water Show flew over our house! Last year, my husband got some great photos with a normal-sized camera and lens. This year, he had a huge telephoto, which got these amazing, up-close-and-personal shots.

This was taken over the trees that are taller than our roof. They did some really cool loops, all while staying in formation.

I really like this one. You can see the pilot inside the cockpit, and it looks like it's just releasing that smoke, or steam, or whatever, out the back. Though I think it had been going for quite some time.

This one is my husband's favorite, and I can totally see why. We enlarged this picture on our computer screen at home, and you can see the pilot looking at us! The kids were on the roof waving (and also covering their ears, even though we put cotton in them), so he probably got a kick out of that.

I'm looking forward to next year!

Screaming Blue Angels

Every August, Chicago hosts the Air and Water Show on the lakefront. It features boats, water skiers, and a zillion different kinds of airplanes. Including the infamous Blue Angels.

We just moved in February, and our new house is right under the fly path of some of the airplanes as they're practicing, or performing in the show. So, instead of going to the lakefront with the millions of other tourists and Chicagoans, we went to the top floor of our house...and ended up getting up close and personal.

These suckers are incredibly loud. Especially when they got so close you could read the writing on the underbellies. My oldest son is highly sensitive to sound, and got a bit concerned when the windows were rattling in their panes. He covered his ears and hid under his blanket.

My youngest son, however, is like a rock. Nothing rattles him. He just covered his ears, then grinned up at the Blue Angels screaming by as if they were there just for him. It was kind of cute. :)

We went through a full week of this - four practice days, then three performance days. Fortunately, the practice days were mostly during the middle of the day, when both my kids were at preschool. But the performance days went until eight at night. That seemed a bit ridiculous even to me.

Next year, we might actually join the rest of Chicago on the beach so we can see the actual show, rather than the bits and pieces from our house. But I think I'll invest in some ear plugs, or something, for my oldest. Got any suggestions?