Cars 2 & Navy Park


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North America » United States » Kansas » Olathe
June 28th 2011
Published: June 29th 2011
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We thought we would reward the kids for being so good last week by taking them to see “Cars 2”. That did not go quite as planned. Connor said it best once we left and were getting in the car when he said, “That sure is not what I thought it would be.” That pretty much set the tone for the remainder of the day.
It had rained that morning and was heating up fairly quickly so the humidity was becoming unbearable. We still decided to stop for a quick picnic at Wyandotte County Lake Park just over the state line in Kansas. Most of the shelter areas were filled so we found a quiet picnic table that sat right on the lake shore. The wind was blowing just hard enough to make everything blow around, but the waves slapping the shore were relaxing.
We stopped by Navy Park in the New Century Aircenter to see the two A-7s and one A-4 Skyhawk. I started photographing the single-seat A-7E Corsair II, one of my favorite aircraft, while Connor took my point and shoot and got a pretty good pic right down the intake. Katy and Kim were already nearly out of site walking along the small lake that was behind the park. After a few minutes Connor took off to meet up with them.
The second aircraft was the two-seat version of the A-7 Corsair II and the third yielded a small historic surprise. The A-4L Skyhawk had been a part of the famous “Blacksheep” Squadron VMA-214.
If you have not noticed I am partial to locations that have aircraft there. My father was in the Air National Guard for 38 years and aircraft played a large part of my childhood. Even now I still run outside when I hear the “whop, whop, whop” of a helicopter or the distinct roar of military jets. I guess in a way each one brings me that much closer to the kid I was. Those were some of the best memories I had.



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