On Friday, Shawn asked if I would "meet him at work" to take a few pictures. I arrived at the LZ (Landing Zone) by the beach a little early and waited...and waited...and waited some more when finally I heard them coming. There is no mistaking the sound of a CH-53 helicopter overhead, so imagine the rumble of six coming your way! At first they were in such a tight formation it was impossible to distinguish individual aircraft in the group...

I stood on top of the truck and took pictures as fast as I could (I'm trying to avoid using the usual terms like "shot at" and "fired away" right now). I didn't know at the time which helo my husband was flying but it turned out I got some great shots pictures of him...


I was standing on that truck, excited about the chance to take such close-up photos of these guys at work when suddenly I realized they were going to take off again right over my head. Hurricane strength winds, people. Right. Over. My. Head. I actually started to shake but couldn't bring myself to stop
shooting taking pictures and take cover...
So, I laid flat on my back on that truck, held tight to my camera and captured these...

And then they were gone. As quickly as they appeared over the beach, they disappeared over the trees toward home, leaving me feeling a little silly in that field and excited to find out what I had in my camera. What a rush.
Have you ever been to a good air show? I highly recommend it. Check around, find one in your area, (take some earplugs), and prepare to be amazed.