Arctic Thunder only comes around every 2 years nowadays, so it's a big deal that draws pretty big crowds. Given our daily nap time, it seemed wise to plan on getting there right when it opened knowing that we'd have to leave in the middle of the air show. We beat the crowds, saw all of the exhibits, and only missed the Thunderbirds in the end. Henry was beat at the end of the 3 hours and it was probably just as well that we missed the ultra loud F-22s. Even with earplugs those are tough.




Henry seemed to enjoy everything he ran into, and the lack of crowds for the first few hours made it very easy to crawl into anything his heart desired. His favorite plane by far was the AWACS. We waited in line for about 10 minutes, all the while allowing Henry to fixate on the spinning disc above the plane.

"What is that?"

"It's a big satellite dish," I replied about a dozen times.

The slow burn as we inched up the staircase had him more than ready to walk through the plane and enjoy chatting with the staff at each 15 foot interval. The enlisted men are exceedingly polite.

"How are you today Sir? How are you young man?"

"I have a tow truck, a garbage truck, and 2 tractors!"

"Good for you!"

That exchange happened with each staff member in the plane -- 6 times.

He had a great time. When asked what his favorite part of the day was we usually get one of two answers -- the AWACS or the model train sets that were tucked into one of the hangars.



Saturday Becky headed to a friend's house on the Anchorage hillside for a baby shower. From the gifts and boxes that came home, it's clear that everyone was far too generous.




Full set of Arctic Thunder photos here.

Full set of Shower photos here.