Loud

Us: "Hey Audrey, what noise does an airplane make?"
Audrey: "Loud"

True 'nuf. It was definitely the word of the weekend.

Us: "Hey Audrey, what did we go see yesterday?"
Audrey: "Loud"

Saturday was the 2011 Joint Service Open House and Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base. Even though I get to see the Joint Strike Fighter and F-18s fly around all day, I don't often see them do much more than take off and land (though, watching the Marines' version of the JSF do vertical take offs and landings is a show in and of itself).

I wasn't sure if Audrey would enjoy it, but I decided to pack the girls up anyway and go see the show. Besides, with my DoD badge, we were able to drive onto the base ourselves (instead of taking a special bus) and get primo parking.

The show was about what you would expect for a big military open house/recruiting event. Lots of aircraft on the ground to climb around in and look at, old war birds, demonstrations by paratroopers, aerobatic stunt planes, and loud jets.

The finale of the day was a demonstration by the Thunderbirds. If the other planes were loud, the Thunderbirds were LOUD! I had a little sit-down discussion with Audrey, telling her that I was going to have to hold her head tight and cover her ears a number of times. We practiced and she seemed to understand what was going to happen.

When the Thunderbirds started, my homemade ear muffs worked wonders to block out the noise, but nothing could have blocked out the massive sound impulses and vibrations you felt when they performed their high power maneuvers. There were a few times when she got a little scared by their thunderous flybys, but her whimpers only lasted a few seconds before she went back to searching the sky for the next planes to come into view.

She had a good time pointing out all the colorful planes in the sky, making pretend airplane noises (there are distinct jet and propeller sounds), and eating frozen lemonade. We were just happy we made it through an 80+ degree day out on a tarmac with no heat stroke, sunburns, or permanent hearing loss.