Monday, August 28, 2006

Indy Air show 06

I don't know the exact explanation, but it goes something like this, the pressure wave over the airplane causes the water vapor to condense as the plane passes. This is a super f-18, longer fuselage and two seats, going by pretty fast.
Pyro is cool.
Rain
These guys zoom.
Here's the pass where they look like they will collide.

more

I liked the perspective on this shot.
This guy was wiping the rain off the plane (mainly in Spain), just kidding.
Flyboys could be a good movie, that is what the poster says anyway.
This is Alcatraz from the boat, the haze is how it was.
I told Julie that when we are too old to fly, we will have to move to San Francisco so we can sail around the bay.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

San Francisco 06

San Francisco
City by the Bay
We got to go to San Francicso for a couple reasons, not the least of which was that we needed to get away. Our flight took off just after they started to take away liquids at the airport gates, and we lost a couple water bottles but not much else. Probably due to the Indy folks being a little slower to react than our friends on the coasts. More on that after we leave here in a week.
With the recomendation of our friend we are staying in Larkspur Landing, which is a rifle shot away from San Quentin, on the north side of the Bay. We can walk to a ferry that takes us right downtown in San Francisco, or a number of other spots on the bay. The ferry is only for people, and the weekday ones get up and go.
This is Alacatraz with the Golden Gate in the background. The temp here is only 65 degrees due to the water temp, and the fog is pretty constant
The inside of the Ferry building has a grand scale that makes you feel like you are in a public space. The skylights and stalls have a distinct market flavor. Many vendors of all kinds of wares.
The Trans America tower, a symbol of San Francisco. very impressive standing at the base.
This is the gateway to Chinatown. Small in comparison to the buildings next to it, the gate serves as a symbol. I took the picture from the corner of Union Square.
Sea Lions at Pier 39
The noise they make is similar to the burros that live next to us. There were some that were moving, but most of them appeared to be resting. Impressive animals, fast and agile in the water and pretty large in person.

We were sitting in the Sea Lion Cafe, and the sun went down over the Marin Peninsula. You can make out one of the towers of the Golden Gate. The picture was taken through the window of the cafe, but there was a lot going on. After this, we took the ferry back to our room and called it a day.