Boom!

The news said it was going to happen at 1:15 this afternoon. It was going to happen because the weather in Florida is lousy right now. I was so excited about it. I remember it happening when I was living in Loma Linda it was incredible when it happened.
So I started waiting outside at about 1:00 because I didn't want to miss it. So out there I sat, waiting, waiting, waiting. I did start to notice all the different kinds of aircraft that fly into LAX. Sometimes the make of the aircraft were easy to identify like the Korean 747 that made a big lazy loop over L.A. before going in for a landing. Other times they were not identifiable to me such as the little private jet that looked like it was a flying jack. Yeah, LAX is right down the 105 from my house, so planes pretty much line up to take turns flying over it. I did notice that Southwest Airlines seemed to have more flights into LAX than anyone else. I guess that means that they are doing better than the other airlines.
It didn't happen at 1:15 like it was supposed to. In fact, it was almost 1:25 when it happened, just before I gave up and came inside. Suddenly there was a big double boom that set off car alarms up and down the street. Oso suddenly decided that it was not the perfect time to rest in the shade and that it was instead time to find somewhere safer to wait out the booms. The space shuttle had finally made it into the atmosphere and was heading in for a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in Lancaster. It doesn't happen very often because it costs NASA $1.8 to fly the shuttle to Florida piggy backed on a modified 747 over the course of a week. It is however cool for those of us who live here in southern California when it does happen.