Guess who’s back. Back again. It’s me and I’m a terrible rapper so I’ll stop now.
This weekend marked my first time ever attending an air show and let me tell you, it was AMAZING! I warned Chris and Matt that I would be making weird sounds (they’re my childish excited sounds) when I see cool things happening, which started while we were STILL in the car driving to the show. They did a great job directing traffic, too, so it took us WAY less time than expected. The line to get in went fairly quick for such a big event and the displays were spaced out just enough that you weren’t crowded. Overall, it was well laid out and well planned.
We wandered the hangar for a bit, looked at the guns (eep!), listened to Chris explain the Sea King training aid, and petted pups. Yes. Dogs. Shortly after that, we made our way to sit on the grass near where the announcers were positioned and quickly realized it didn’t matter where you were sitting because everything was happening way above your head. Our only mistake was not bringing shade and not applying 50 layers of sunscreen. We all burned pretty quickly even with sunscreen on and paid for it that night, but I was so enthralled with the show I didn’t even notice my skin sizzling. Oops.
The show itself was fantastic. I had no clue what to expect. If you check out my Facebook page, there’s an entire album dedicated to the Borden Air Show. The first performers (is that what you call them?) were the Skyhawks. This group is fearless! They jump from the sky at crazy speeds, plummeting towards the earth, and although I was freaking out inside, it was so neat to watch. The Base Commander jumped with them! That was fun to be a part of. But seriously, they are fantastic to watch if you ever get the chance.
We watched Brent Handy fly in his Pitts S2, the CF-18 Hornet with a new paint job commemorating the 60th anniversary of the NORAD agreement, the Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team, a Jelly Belly plane, a Corsair (vintage and my favourite), a Spitfire (vintage), a Sailplane, and last, but not least, the Snowbirds. I’ve watched the CF-18’s fly around our house in Trenton, so I was aware how loud they can be, but it did not compare to how loud it was at the show! The Corsair was by far my favourite. It looks so rugged and solid. It’s a beautiful aircraft. I was also mid-panic attack watching Brent Handy fly around so graceful yet daringly. He has some serious talent, control, and understanding of his plane, and it shows.
In the end, I was so impressed (and burnt) that I walked back to the car rambling on about how excited I was to go to another one.
After returning back to Matt’s, red as a lobster, hungry, and tired, we decided to fry up some food and start with a beer exchange. I brought Matt some of my favourites from our part of Ontario, and he traded us some Flying Monkey, Wasaga Beach beer, and Bench. We brought Wild Card (Limey Bastard and Purple Sour Ranger), Parsons (Prickly Pear Perfection), 5 Paddles (Rainbow Ale and Skull Pucker), Brock Street (a variety), Arch (variety of all four canned beers they sell) and Signal (Volt – Blackberry Dessert) to the table, literally. We didn’t even know a few of these breweries existed, so to note, your 401 ads on the big green signs work! That’s how we found Arch, 5 Paddles, and Manantler. Money well spent!
We have yet to try all the beers we received, but I’m excited! A few favourites from the trade, although I don’t think there was one we didn’t enjoy, was Brock Street Irish Red Ale, 5 Paddles Rainbow Ale, Wild Card Purple Sour Ranger (duhhhh), and Signal Blackberry Dessert.
I’m a huge supporter of local breweries, and on our way back we even stopped into Manantler. There were sadly no sours for me to try, but I will be back! Chris bought a few beers to try, and I bought a cup because I love their logo. I’m planning to try Flying Monkey this week, and see how it tastes. I’m excited.
So that was my weekend in a nutshell. It was super busy and I’m still recovering from the sunburn and a 6km bike ride. My birthday is Saturday so I’m trying to rest up so I can have another fun-filled weekend, then in 2 weeks, we head back to Nova Scotia. So much happening.
Thanks for reading! Here are a few photos from the weekend, but the rest can be found here.
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