Lady Bug Viewing Platform

Fleet week is a good time to have a boat. You can avoid the shore crowds to get yourself involved in the water crowds. Except I went out to watch the Blue Angels with 4 kids and only 2 adults. I couldn't afford to be in the middle of the drifting shifting masses and keep track of the kids' safety.

So, I anchored in the Berkeley circle and Noah sat on my lap. And on Mark's lap. And he loved the Blue Angels. My plan worked, his hatred of the boat was diminished by his interest in the planes. Here's what he looked like; these pictures are meant to prove his lap-sitting and insatiable interest in the planes.


Sitting with me.


Sitting with Mark.

That's what he did. He sat like a blob on our laps and whenever he couldn't see a plane he would repeat "Blue Angels" in a ridiculously cute voice over and over.

Now, our viewing spot could have used a few miles of westward action. But, because of the shallow water in the Berkeley Circle, we could anchor safely and away from the crowds. And the planes appeared to be using the decrepit Berkeley Pier as a sightline for their turns, they would cruise right down the pier directly in our view before heading back to SF for the fun stuff. So we got a lot of closeup action.

And, right at the end, they came by and flew in a diamond formation right over our heads, banking exactly at our position. I even got the whole crew up in the cockpit in time to see this. This was a very successful day.