Endeavor, Thunderbirds, Fall Equinox

What an incredible day! I drove up the coast, stopping at every turn out from 9:45-11:00, chasing the endeavor. I didn’t see it, but I realized later, it passed directly over my house! That’s magic, whether I saw it or not.

NASA photograph

I had an appointment in Salinas. When I got there, I found out that the Thunderbirds were practicing for their weekend air show. I had at least a dozen near-misses with other cars and pedestrians, as I pulled over suddenly on streets in Salinas, trying to get the shot. I didn’t. But not because I didn’t try … And almost run up the sidewalk on a pedestrian on Sherwood – the old red-light district, and current homeless section.

Thunderbird media photo.

These planes travel at speeds over 400 mph, sometimes only 2 and 1/2 feet, yes FEET, apart. These Falcon F-16s sometimes reach 7 Gs. For the first time, there is a Mom on the team. She flew fighter planes in Iraq. She wanted to be a fighter pilot at the age of 13, when she first saw the Thunderbirds. Now she is one!

Then, top it off with the Fall Equinox, and official start of fall, and it was one of those days that make me so grateful to be who and where I am. Time to add water to my solar generator – 4 times a year … So equinoxes and solstices are obvious solution. This is the subject of a future blog post. I hope your days are full of magic, too!