It’s Fleetweek in San Francisco - Blue Angels had their first show today, and will do so again tomorrow and again Sunday - and the day is spectacular - supposed to stay nice all weekend. I hope you’re sitting down, but it’s 86 and clear here today! A friend of mine sent me this pic from atop a building downtown:
Not a cloud in the sky - and no wind, so you can see the lingering trails - so, if you’re nearby, this is a pretty good time to visit - if you decide to do so, come early, consider taking transit, be prepared to walk…ask me why I suggest that…
I grew up across the bay from the Angel’s home base at PNAS. Used to watch them fly over my grandmother’s house every summer as she lived across from the base on Bayou Grande.
I remember that a SanFran City Councilman (a professed Socialist) didn’t want the Blue Angels flying over San Francisco during Fleet Week last year. They cancelled it because of weather conditions, but that just irked me… Come on! Fleet Week without the Angels buzzing the bay?
I have seen this show a few times - it’s always great, but not usually this clear and hot - lol.
I worked in an office downtown and another up along the Embarcadero, near Fisherman’s wharf for just over 23 years - when the Angels came to town I thought it was great, not only the actual show, but the few days before when they practiced and roared past overhead - which really rattles buildings!
For those of us who like the sound of a big or small block V8, or straight pipes on a diesel engine, it was great, for others, less so.
I don’t recall many people (verbally) not liking the Blue Angels per se, but there were a number of people (we had about 200 people in each office, always an open office plan) who always needed silence to work and they made a lot of noise about getting it
As someone who doesn’t need silence to work, their complaints were sort of a headache year round (ie don’t leave the conference room door open etc), so during these days, they seemed to really struggle.
Anyway - none of us work there anymore, and the Blue Angels keep flying - Go Navy!
@Robert_Goldman, I got it - but wondered what relevance it has to a model building forum? The subject here is the Blue Angels. In addition to seeing the F-18s you can visit the ships - which I appreciate.
One of these years I need to visit the Fleet week and visit those ships.
Fleet Week used to be a lot better before 9/11 and the GWOT. For obvious reasons, the US Navy really ramped up security for access to the ships that involves long lines just like an airport security gate. The US Navy is NOT messing around nowadays.
Before 9/11, on an amphibious ship’s tour, the sailors would take the public to see the gym, the barber, the CIC, the bridge, the mess hall (sometimes free food samples), the berthing, the decks, the hangar, the well deck, the corridors, the armored vehicles, the landing crafts, the medical bay and ICU, the climate acclimation room, the flight deck, and the ship’s store (closed to public access but one can pass by in the hallway). It was really fun and eye-opening and well worth the trip. Nowadays, the US Navy just opens up the hangar, the flight deck, and the well deck, sometimes with vehicles and/or aircraft or without, and going inside the interior of the ship is forbidden except those areas mentioned. As you can expect, security is tight.
It’s still worth a trip to see the massive scale of the ships and the USMC vehicles and get a sense of how things work and how sailors and Marines live. However, times have changed and the world is no longer the same so Fleet Week will never be as “open access to the public” as it once was.
Also bear in mind that the cities have changed post-COVID so please don’t leave ANYTHING inside cars or rental vehicles to avoid car break-ins and stealing of property.
Peter, I am afraid you are right. A lot of things have changed after 9/11. Just few months before, I had received my pilots license and I could go in/out of local airport without any restrictions but within weeks things changed. They fenced everything and keypad locks all around. Even, Reno Air races security changed because before I could walk up to the racers before they flew for their races. Now, it’s all roped off and one can watch from distance.
So, yeah it’s sad but truth as the world is changing forever for all of us by the actions of the few. And I am afraid to say but with what happened in Israel things will change even more for the rest of the world.
