Unless you live in a bubble (I’m kinda jealous if you do), you know that the Olympics are happening in Paris right now. They are obviously composed of one impressive display of physical and mental talent after another. I’m always amazed at the skill these athletes exhibit and my mind absolutely breaks when it considers how much time and effort is dedicated to get to that level. I’m freaking lazy and seldom produce on my own extremely minor goals!
This past weekend was the 75th anniversary of Seafair and Chris and I jumped at an amazing opportunity for a rather exclusive view of the star of the show, the Blue Angels.
Prior to this year, I didn’t know much about this event. I knew there was a plane show with the Blue Angels and that was about it. To be completely honest, I still don’t know much about it. After visiting, my current take is that it’s a way to show off military stuff and recruit new military peeps.
From living in the area, I knew that the Angels fly around town practicing and making a lot of noise. I’d never really seen anything impressive. It’s a plane flying. Big freaking deal right?
I also knew that there was hydroplane racing. Now that sounds exciting! A speed boat essentially hovering on the water doing 200+ miles per hour! I was so very excited to see this and expected it to be the highlight of my day. Spoilers: I was wrong.
We took public transit to and from the event in Columbia City. Super easy and I highly recommend it! They have a free shuttle that picks you up from the train station and takes you directly to the park! So nice. Plan your departure tho because they warned us that they’d have 8 shuttles lined up immediately after the Blue Angel performance and that it’d take an hour before the next shuttle got back if you missed that round or were crowded out from them.
There was a huge line to enter the park! I honestly didn’t do any research but it turns out people pay $50 a person to enter the park and view the show. That’s the base-level admission. If you want any of the fancy seats such as on the Grand Stand? You’re going to pay extra. And they do. The park was packed with people.
Our VIP ticket (man that sounds pretentious but it’s what the ticket said) let us skip the line and not pay a cover charge which was awesome. Immediately on the other side of the security/ticket gate, was a chance to win beef jerky by playing corn hole. They had other prizes but the only one that mattered was the jerky. You had to get 1 bag in to get free jerky and I got 2 because I was focused on the goal. Chris was not focused. They let me have 2 packets of jerky and I hooked Chris up with a consolation prize.
Around the corner from this was the Army recruitment and testing grounds. Think a bunch of men in uniform and tanks. Plus, there was a tent where you could see if you could pass the fitness test. I’m training to do pull-ups and was very impressed that the max for the day was 24. I’m only at 2!
After that, it was Food Court Central! Okay, there were also a few more recruitment areas, a stage but mostly food. Very much a fair atmosphere.
Complete with fair food prices. I couldn’t pass up a Snickerdoodle Cookie Sandwich with Salted Caramel ice cream. This lovely sandwich set me back a cool $14. I’ve no idea how families were surviving in this place!
We made our way to the dock and waited for our ride to arrive. The ducks were chilling in the water while the hydroplanes practiced. I confess to being very disappointed seeing them at first. I don’t know if my first views were of the vintage ones or if they were just practicing but they were going rather slow (in my very unprofessional opinion). Later on, we’d see them going wicked fast and it was just as thrilling as I had hoped for.
Our venue for the afternoon was a former ferry boat turned party barge. There were 50ish people on board. They fed us lunch, a ton of beverages, and dessert.
The captain of our party barge was phenomenal. He moved the boat multiple times to give us the best vantage point for the various afternoon activities. We started our adventure just outside the hydroplane racecourse and watched some thrilling races. Then he’d move the boat to the center point for the airshow and we’d watch the various planes do their things. Then, it was back for more hydroplane races before we settled in for the piece de le resistance, the Blue Angels.
Before the show started, he let us know that the boat we were stationed near was the command center for the Angels. The people onboard were in constant contact with the pilots and had super fancy “flashlights” to help them navigate their tricks.
Y’ALL. We weren’t just at this event watching it from the sidelines. We were in the middle of the action! Our proximity to that boat meant that all the super cool, “OMG they didn’t die” moments happened right above our heads. I don’t have words to describe it.
Okay so I have a few. Someone on the party barge team created a kickass playlist for the show. They started with the Top Gun theme song and moved into bop after bop after bop. So many of the song lyrics encapsulated the amazing show they put on.
Planes 1-4 flew in super tight formations (Chris estimated within 3 feet of each other and Google confirms that they fly as closely as 18 INCHES) while planes 5 and 6 would most often fly towards each other and then at very last-minute turn 90 degrees to avoid a face-first collision. They flew right side up. Upside down. Sideways. They flew straight up into the stratosphere and then back down at us. They flew all 6 together in a tight formation directly at and over us; making our bodies vibrate.
These pilots are our fighter pilot Olympians. The skill they exhibit is just as impressive as any other Olympian. The dedication to their craft is just as awe-inspiring. I get it now why people flock to this event year after year!
That sounds amazing!! What a cool experience!