Category Archives: flying

June 30, 2011 · 12:02 pm

Last Day in Cold Lake

The end of my Cold Lake holiday is fast approaching, but today has been a fabulous last day, to end a fabulous vacation.The sun is shining, a light breeze is blowing, clean wash is drying on the line and I spent the last hour watching some of the best pilots in the world (so it has been said) training. Two pairs of jets were up and doing big lazy loops through the cloud cover, whistling as they pass overhead, followed by their engine roar as they disappeared. Later a single jet was up and his aerobatics were truly amazing. Straight up he went and it seemed he sat completely still for a second before he rolled over on his back and nose-dived earthward. It would be silent then as he bottomed out and the roar of his engines would hit us as he began a new ascent. Up and down, in and out of clouds, rolling over and turning tight figure-eights. I can’t imagine the g’s he’d be pulling; he was sure moving. What a feeling it must be to fly like that!

One of our jets at the air show

This is a country of extremes and I give credit to those who choose to live here. When it’s hot, everything bakes. The grass turns yellow and brittle, the ground cracks and you can feel the sun burning you  in mere minutes. When it’s cold you don’t stand out for long, even in June. Storms blow in fast, faster than back home in Ontario. We sat out yesterday afternoon and evening; it was a beautiful day, warm with a light breeze to fool you into thinking your weren’t getting burnt.

Then another beauty of a storm blew in. We’d driven back to the hotel about 7 under blue skies, had a cup of tea and were watching the tellie. John heard something and checked out the window, rain was pattering down. Within minutes the sky turned black, thunder and lightning rolled through and the rain turned torrential. Street lights came on and cars were driving with their 4-ways flashing. Rain was blowing sideways in the wind and so heavy we couldn’t see the lights from buildings on the other side of the road.. then we couldn’t see the cars on the road. Or maybe they had stopped.. not sure. Anyway, the storm was a gully-washer and the light show fantastic!
We had just gone to bed about 11 when the fire alarm went off. I was in my pj’s so grabbed my housecoat, John got re-dressed and we went out to the lobby. A tall well-built specimen came upstairs from the lower level in a towel and a much older gentleman was milling about in a pair of yellow tighties..lol There was no fire but the alarm is triggered by water leakage as well and apparently the building had sprung a leak..  all was well (for everyone but the manager) and we returned to our rooms to attempt sleeping with the alarm still ringing. It took the manager awhile to find the panel and get it re-set, but finally peace reigned and the day was over. This morning – the sky is a lovely blue, the sun is shining and Canada’s jets are flying.

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Filed under flying, Life, military, Nature, storms