Look, Up In the Air!

For the second year in a row, I went to the Chicago Air & Water Show by myself. (Last year A was studying, and this year he was out of town.) I don't mind, though. I like to take tons of pictures, and I understand not everyone is obsessed with airplanes. (Though I don't know why not!)

The Air & Water Show is comprised of mostly airplane acts. Aerobatics, flybys, etc. There is technically a "water" portion, but it consists of people jumping from a low-flying helicopter into the harbor. Not exactly thrilling. It spans two days over a weekend in August, with the same acts repeated on both days. Though sometimes not in the same order (the pilots determine it the day-of).

This year, for the first time in many, it rained on Saturday. I'm sure it was a huge bummer for people who only traveled into the city for that one day. (Oh, by the way, 2 MILLION people come to this show every year. Yeah, madness.) Thankfully, I had Sunday as an option. :) It was a bright, breezy, beautiful day!

Be prepared for many photos!

I started out near Oak Street Beach, which is a few blocks away from Air Show Center on North Ave Beach. The lakefront near Oak Street is much less crowded.

Yes, I said "less" crowded. Just wait until you see North Ave Beach.

I actually got a late start and missed the first act or two - including the AeroShell aerobatic team. Good thing I saw them last year - they're amazing!

I did catch some paratroopers.

Then the F-18 Super Hornet scared everyone as it screamed by overhead. Loved seeing it break the sound barrier!

Some people are lucky to have boats - must be a cool view!

At every event there will be dissenters... their signs were quite amusing. I love how they were watching the show and not trying to actually make a point!

Next up was Sean D. Tucker, a member of Team Oracle. He flies a custom-made plane called the Oracle Challenger. They built it for him! He pushed the limits in every other plane they have.

He is seriously amazing. He does the smallest inverted loop in the world. Check it out:

See how many people are on North Ave beach? It's packed. You can't walk without rubbing elbows with someone.

Next on the agenda was the Army Golden Knights.

They did this crazy move where two guys jumped and then pulled their chutes, then a third guy fell off one of those first two, zoomed down a ways then pulled his own chute. It looked scary!

The last act was the headliners: The US Air Force Thunderbirds.

Their F-16s are pretty awesome.

Very impressive feats of flying.

They did a maneuver where one pilot flew in the middle of a group of four... very cool!

Their large-scale whole-group maneuvers were outstanding.

While there, a woman brought along a spectator who wasn't too impressed. But extremely laid back! (Orion would have been desperate to get away!)

This is the scene when you try to leave at the end... mass chaos.

All in all, another great Air (& Water) Show! I still prefer the Blue Angels, but I'm still amazed!

Taste of Chicago

Catching up on some posts from the summer...

This year I finally experienced the infamous Taste of Chicago. Locals will generally agree it is overpriced and the food is not the best Chicago has to offer, but I wanted to go once. I met A for lunch during the week (got outside of the office, yay!). It was a bright sunny day, and since it was the middle of the week, it was less crowded (though there were still plenty of people!).

The entire span of Columbus Drive through Grant Park is blocked off for the Taste. Traffic for a week and a half is madness!

Here's how it works: Restaurants put up a tent. You buy tickets. Approximately $2 each. Then you go to the tents of your choice and buy a full-size entree ($$) or a taste portion ($). They list the prices of the food in numbers of tickets, so you think you're not paying much. Very tricky!

First stop: African for some goat. Yum!

See all the people?!

Next: Bratwurst. A got the sauerkraut.

Then Thai noodles.

We didn't eat at these next places, but I loved the tents. Some restaurants got really creative!

Bourbon chicken - delish!

For dessert... churros and chocolate. It was very popular!

We had a couple tickets left, so A got a taster from Vermillion, an Indian-Latin fusion place we tried out during Restaurant Week.

If you're looking to try an array of food, the Taste can be a good time. Just not on the weekend - way too crowded. But if you're looking for the high-end restaurants or anything fancy, this is not the place. Try Restaurant Week (or Chef's Week) instead!

Jamming Under the Full Moon

Catching up on summer posts...

While taking a photography class, our instructor suggested we take a field trip one week to the Full Moon Fire Jam. Once I saw their website, I knew it was going to be an amazing experience!

During the warmer months (April-October), a group called Pyrotechniq gets together once a month on the evening of the full moon for an all-out jam. There are dozens of fire spinners and drummers provide a background beat. 

Turns out we weren't the only group of photographers who wanted to try to capture some fire throwing. There were tons of cameras there! Side note: My photos are not the best. It was a challenging setting (as expected), and I hope to go back again!

Practicing in the fueling area:

Once it got dark, the jam got going. The fire spinners took turns in the circle - about eight at a time. They spread out so everyone could get a view (and no one got burned).

This girl had an over-sized hula hoop - that was on fire! She twirled it around her hips, neck, arms...

This woman had some sort of candelabra-esque pieces she held in both hands.

The fire breathers are always a hit!

All the performers were so talented. They rarely dropped anything. If they did, there was another performer nearby to use a cloth to smother the flames.

Juggling with fire... not on my list of things to do (I'd definitely hurt myself!)

Definitely a fun experience and I'll be going back again!