25) "No, we HAVE to go and watch the planes land and take off !!" Ok, I relented.....thinking they were both jonesing for an airport fix and we would be the enablers.
The next afternoon, off we went to the Sunset Bar....little did we know that the bar was nearly ON the runway !!
The beach is right at the end of the runway...The planes are literally landing 50 yards away. The bar has a chalkboard posting the schedule of the landings and takeoffs. In the late afternoon, the jumbo jets start arriving from Europe. I it amazing watching these monsters landing only yards away ! Then, there are the takeoffs....! The planes sit at the end of the runway reving up their engines. The jet blast is so strong that traffic stops (see car above) and people on the beach run up and hang on to the fence so they don't get blown into the water....REALLY! It's NUTS !! The yellow umbrella in the photo above is about to go airborne into the water....
This is the jet blast......
You can see the blowing sand, and the people hanging onto the fence getting sandblasted as the planes spool up their engines. In fact, I think some of the pilots put on a show by increasing and decreasing the RPMs several times before takeoff just to please the crowd.
The bar had speakers strategically spaced tuned to the tower frequency so that we could hear the air traffic controllers....Bob and Debbie were in their glory ! We had a great afternoon; and I actually thought about hanging on the fence during a takeoff of a jumbo jet...but, nawh...didn't want to get sand in my beer !!
Brings a whole new meaning to the term True Grit !
The Persephoneies
That was a fantastic read. It was nice to meet you two yesterday on the beach by the webcam. We are the family from Oklahoma. I love your blog. Thanks for sharing so much about your sailing lifestyle. It is fascinating to me, the entire concept. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteJulie Kelly