Angel Spectators

 

8/13/22 Maple Leaf Park

While the rest of the city rejoiced the return of the Blue Angels after a two-year COVID hiatus, my attitude was bah-humbug. Call me jaded: I grew up on Lake Washington, hearing the roar of hydroplanes and seeing the Angels fly past my face from our back deck. Driving through summer-weekend traffic to bake in the sun for hours to get a good viewing spot doesn’t appeal to me much.

Greg still enjoys seeing them, though, so we lazily walked the few blocks to Maple Leaf Park, where the Angels were visible as tiny dots with contrails. The last time we did that was in 2018 on a much cooler day that had attracted a small neighborhood crowd. Last Saturday afternoon the temperature was in the low 80s with no shade anywhere. Although the center of the park was busy with a large volleyball tournament, the south end where the jets could be seen attracted only a half-dozen or so. Curmudgeon that I am, I was more pleased to see Her Majesty quietly in the background.

I prefer to sketch Mt. Rainier from the north end of the park, where the view is unobstructed by trees, and I also prefer the morning light. But in any light and from any direction, Her Majesty is grand.