I've always wanted one of these shots...

Truth: If I could do anything in the entire world, I would love to fly in an F-16. (Yeah, right, like that will ever happen! A girl can dream, though, right?)

I'm obsessed with jets, especially F-16s. I get an overwhelming rush of excitement whenever I get to see them, especially as close as I did this afternoon. I've done one or two posts about them before, and here is yet another one.

Today, my little family and I took a drive along the Gulf Coast to see the beauty all around. We headed up towards Eglin AFB just to see what we could see. After spending some time (and no money, amazingly) at the Base Exchange, we played at a park, and then watched some jets do take-offs and landings right by the park. It was awesome! As we were driving by the air strip, I got some shots that I have always hoped I would get. Enjoy... (Click on the photos to see more of what we actually saw - DETAIL!) :-)

'Here he comes [in from] the wild blue yonder...'


"Is he going to go right over us?!"


"It's going to be close..."


"Here he comes..."

"Awesome!"
I didn't have to zoom in on any of these shots. It was so cool that we were driving at the right speed to be able to see the jet go right in front of us before landing on the other side of the road. I've always wanted to get one of these shots, and I got really lucky this time around!

After we turned around (after making a wrong turn to head off-base), we were able to catch another one coming in:



It was a good day.

(Oh, and can anyone tell me what three songs I quoted in this post? Just a little trivia question for you.)

Not in the blogging mood...

I haven't been much in the mood for blogging, lately. I haven't even been in the mood to take any pictures to do blog posts about. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I've been trying to get things figured out for the coming weeks. So far, it's very slow-going, but not through any fault of my own. Nor is it my husband's fault. The Air Force is in no hurry to help us figure out what is going on. My husband has receive three sets of orders and no one can tell him which ones are actually accurate. It is quite frustrating because our time is growing shorter and shorter and we would like to get things ready as soon as possible. With the given situation, we can't do anything until we know which set of orders are the right ones. What is even more frustrating is no matter how hard my husband tries to get answers, no one takes him seriously because of his rank. He has to have someone higher-ranking go with him whenever he tries to get any information. Brett has definitely been given the run-around and there's nothing he can do about it. The Air Force treats us well for the most part, but it's things like this that make me wish we weren't at the disposal of the military.

All in all, let's just say that if I had any hair left, I'd be pulling it out right now.

That's all.

Amazing Machines

Dad, you're gonna be jealous...

The other day, as I was cleaning my car, the F-16s were active. They were taking off so low and flying right over my place, I could feel the rumblings and vibrations in my chest. I love it! It's such an awesome feeling. I don't think I will ever get sick of it. I can't imagine what a rush it is for the actual PILOT of those amazing machines.

Despite my awe and amazement, I couldn't help but think of the poor people in war-torn countries that probably have a somewhat different reaction when they hear those jets. It's probably something closer to what my 3-year-old's reaction is -- looking for a hiding place and wanting his daddy. Now, I realize that it's probably very rare for those jets to be THAT low when they're performing their duties, but just think of how much more fearful you'd be if it was that close to you. I imagine it would be pretty scary.

I guess I'm just grateful that those jets are on my side and that I get to enjoy them without any fear. I can just stand in awe and get all excited AND look really stupid in front of my husband (while he's trying to console our 3-year-old).

(Sorry there's no photo. I was stupid and just watched instead of thinking "There will probably be more. I should get my camera." *smacking forehead* Dang it!)