Grizzly Island

One of the first weekends in September we decided to try some more sight seeing. We went out to Grizzly Island (State Park?). It wasn't what I thought it would be like, but we did get to do a little hiking/walking and saw quite a few people fishing. Apparently this is a great place to go fishing.

This was the Highway Patrol Boat.
Bradley with his 'shore side' made fishing pole. He had lots of fun playing in the water.

One of his favorite things to do is to throw rocks in the water!

Gotta find the biggest one to make a big splash!!

I was walking behind the boys on our walk and I couldn't resist taking this picture.

This picture doesn't show how cool these trees really are. It does show how cute Daniel is though. :) The bark on the tree was several different colors.

I guess during the winter months when there is a lot of rain this area is really pretty and there is quite a bit of water here. We did see some beaver while we were walking along this part of the stagnate water. It was fun to spend time as a family.

September 2008

Air Show

This is the first time I had ever been to a military air show. It was amazing! The boys still talk about the air planes. It was the last weekend in August. On the last day of the air show all the fighter jets and personal air planes flew out. Bradley sat by the front window and watched them. Then the next day he kept asking me to make the air planes come. It was hard for him to understand that the "cool" planes had to go home. We still like to watch the "big o' planes" fly every day.

Bradley with "his" size of plane.

These are some of the Air Force Thunderbirds. They did the last stunt of the day. I think they were my favorite. It was amazing to see how precise they were in all their movements.

They were very loud.

Thunder Bird up close.

This is the C-17 Globe Master. This is one of the three air planes here at the base. This one is my personal favorite!
The boys standing just inside the cargo bay.
These posters show the awesome ability of the C-17.
This one shows the cargo capacity.
This is looking up to the cockpit from inside the cargo by. The little circle half way up is the window to the cockpit. There was a long line to go up there so we didn't actually get to sit in there.
The C-17 also had the capacity to carry 3-4 patience (kind of like an ambulance) with a doctor and his team/staff. They had a gurney with a dummy on it to show us how they set them up.



This is the C-5 Galaxy. The front and back of the cargo bay open on this one. It also has a very unique sound. (You will have to come visit me to hear it!)
This is the Navy Hornet. This was also an awesome presentation. They Hornet can brake the sound barrier! They didn't brake the sound barrier at the show, but it got close. As the Hornet would buzz past the crowd you could see a glowing ora around the plane and then after it past you would hear the engine. They are really good for surprise attacks because by the time you hear them they have come and gone!

This is one of many small planes they had open for the public to walk onto and sit in the cockpit. Bradley had lots of fun doing that.The pilots stood by their planes to answer any questions about it. Some of them flew in from all over the country to stay the weekend at the air show.
This is the Air Force recruiters "Jet Car". They raced it for us. It was amazing how fast it can get going in 3 seconds! They had an airplane race the jet car. The air plane came in over the flight line at top speed and the jet car started from a stand still just as the air plane pasted over head and the jet car caught up to it and passed it in a 1/4 mile stretch!
The Jelly Belly Factory had two planes on display and a stunt play that landed on top of a moving truck. That was pretty cool too.
A small stunt plane.


The California Highway Patrol was there with some cars, a boat, and their helicopter.
This is the tail fin of a C-17. (I just really like this picture.)

This was an F-14 I think. The pilot was really cool to talk to. He showed us were they load their ammo. He also showed us where the missiles go. The gun is on the right side of the plane and the missiles are on the left side. Making the right side heavier. That is why when you see fighter jet like this take off they always lean to the right a little. The pilot was very informative. By the time Andy had talked to him for 10 minutes he was sure he should have been a pilot.

The Highway Patrol helicopter.
I couldn't get far enough away to get all of the air plane in the picture and still be able to see the boys. I think this one is the KC-10 Extender.
This is one of the many guard dog teams that were walking the grounds. This guy was really nice to pose for us.

We had to take a picture of this. Normally if you cross this red line while on base they can use deadly force to stop you. This is one of the first things they told Andy at his orientation. During the air show we were able to cross several red lines.

We really enjoyed going to the show. Hopefully we will be able to go again before we leave here. We do enjoy watching the C-17's, C-5's and the KC-10's take off every day. Bradley is getting to where he can tell them apart pretty well.

August 30, 2008

Drivers, start your engines!

Andy got some tickets to the Indy Car races for their Armed Services day. The boys and I had never been so we were really excited. We had to buy some ear plugs because the cars were so loud, but we all had a lot of fun! Here are some pictures of our trip to the Sonoma race way!

Outside the store where we got the ear plugs.Daniel decided he really liked his. This is in one of the tunnels. You have to walk under the track to get from one side to the other.

I love it when they use really big flags lined by active military men and women!
This is the Grand-Am Armed Forces race. It lasted 3 hours!
Enjoying the races!These are the Indy Cars

This is the winning car and the top three drives.Daniel spelt through part of the races. We were really surprised because it was so loud!
We walked around in between the races. This was one of Bradley's favorites.
Daniel preferred this model.

We had great seats up in the shade. Daniel enjoyed having the row to himself.
Bradley was so enthralled with the races that he couldn't even look and smile at the camera.
The pit crew and their gear!
Check out the tires.


This is the Fire Hawk mascot. I must admit I don't really know who he is or what he represents but the boys liked him.

August 23, 2008