It's Fleet Week here in NYC, and a city swarming with sailors makes things feel so much like a little southern town: so many restaurants offering free meals for military, so many "yes ma'am's" from those uniformed friends, and so many times that I almost snuck one of those nice-mannered young bucks back home to teach my boys some manners. I could get used to "yes ma'am" around here!
We tried to get in as much Fleet Week goodness as we could, including eating lunch on the pier of the Intrepid Aircraft Carrier and touring a Navy Destroyer and U.S. Coast Guard Ship. I knew my boys would like it, but I guess I didn't realize that they would LOVE it. Over and over again Talmage would say, "Mom, this really is the best day of my whole life! Thank you so much!" And if that wasn't enough to put a tear in my eye, the ship was full of sweet Veterans who marveled at the interest my boys had in everything and kept saying, "That is why we did what we did. It was for them." Yep--and then the tears were of the waterfall persuasion. James and I both have a rich military lineage and I love spending Memorial Day weekend thinking of them and all others who have served our country, and teaching my boys about their sacrifices for our freedom. In fact, Everett marched right up to a Navy Captain (of his own doing, might I add) outside of Trader Joe's and said, "Thank you fo pwotecting ouw countwy!" Memorial Day weekend for the win!
No doubt one of their favorite parts was holding all of the huge guns on display. The ones above are fake, but most of them were real--and HUGE. I have to admit, we're not a super "play with guns" family so when my babies were picking up 30 pound sniper rifles I got just a tad bit nervous. But they were in heaven and it was educational--I hope!
Everyone was so nice. I'm pretty convinced that they only let the nicest sailors be spokesmen on the ship (locking the others away in the mess hall presumably) and they let us touch everything. And you better believe I was right there with them climbing on huge tanks and trucks and having a blast.
No big deal--just Talmage climbing on top of a tank. And smiling bigger than ever!
My boys playing the ultimate game of dress-up (with me behind the camera shocked that they could keep those heavy helmets on their heads!)
While on the flight deck we were introduced to this gorgeous lady--a 3-month-old Osprey. It's a helicopter-airplane fusion that is just remarkable. They let us sit inside and buckle up (too bad they didn't take us for a spin) and the crazy fun thing is that we saw one of these flying at the Airshow the next day.
The next day (Saturday) we went to the Jones Beach Airshow. We almost didn't make the two-hour trek (walk, subway, railroad, bus, walk) because it was storming all night and James was a little under the weather, but we decided to just do it and I'm certainly glad we did.
It was a gorgeous day at the beach. Soft winds and sunshine created the perfect beachy atmosphere and we left feeling sun-kissed but certainly not burned (with the exception of Chase's nose that is!) This picture is most definitely my favorite of the week. I'm glad my boys can rest on the shoulders of these great men!
The Golden Knight parachute team and the Osprey, just waving hi to us onlookers at the beach.
Why hello Ever Knight, make yourself at home! By all means, hug your DD, suck your thumb and watch those airplanes with your cool shades on.
My sweet baby boy and the American flag celebrating Memorial Day. With a killer airshow. On the beach no less. Life is good.
And then there was this one time when Uncle Chase turned Talmage into a merman. That lasted at least five seconds!
It seems almost ungrateful to pick a favorite, but come on, the Blue Angels were performing, how could they not top the chart? I felt like I was watching Top Gun in person and I was giddier than can be (and also ridiculously scared when one snuck up behind us). Airplane pictures can never do anything justice, but gosh it was amazing! SUPER amazing. Overall it was a fabulous day!
So...I'm trying to soften the blow of this sad airport departure picture by adding this picture of Chase stuffing his face with a Carnegie Deli pastrami sandwich. For the record, he loved the sandwich. And also for the record, I bawled like a baby watching him walk through security and out of my view. So...let's focus on him loving the sandwich...and hope he comes back to visit soon!
You were so lucky to have Chase for a week and to be able to go to the Jones Beach Air Show. When we drive past Camp Pendleton, we often see Osprey and combat helicopters in the air. It's always exciting for me! This Sunday at church I met a marine who is a Cobra helicopter pilot!
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