Blue Angels

Pensacola is known as the home of the Blue Angels.  That’s the Navy’s top fliers. They perform in air shows all over the country but have regular practice sessions in Pensacola.  Somehow we never found time to go to the viewing stands at the National Naval Aviation Museum to see them. So, before we left Pensacola we got to see them from Fort Pickens which is just across the bay. I think seeing the formations would be more intense at the viewing stands since the team flies sets up everything to provide the best show from that viewpoint.  But from the fort you can see how they set things up. And it can be very loud as the planes quickly pass over the fort. It’s pretty cool!

This is from the Naval Museum.  The same formation but I was MUCH closer (and they weren’t moving)!

The smoke the plane lets off looks like a roller coaster here.  It’s from a slow flight up and a quick flight down.

I just like this picture that John took.  Looks like there are flies around my head.

As we were waiting for the show at the fort we met several friendly groups who were also waiting.  We were discussing all the supposedly haunted places in the area with one family.  The girl told us a story about when she visited Fort Barrancas. She was walking through the fort when she told her mom who was behind her to stop pulling the ponytail on her hair.  Turns out her ponytail was floating up in the air without anyone around it.  Bizarre!

In honor of the haunted places in Pensacola (actually, it’s just because of the white coloring), this one is called a Ghost Crab.