This RV park is pretty sweet (Geiger Key Marina). I don't understand these RV parks, but I guess some people really like them. This one has a full range of people. Some are there for a few weeks, some for the season, some have been there for years. It's clear that they don't often get people like me coming through. The tiki bar has respectable food, and cheap, cold beer. It also seems like most of the people at the bar are locals. Not many of the residents/guests seem to be eating at the tiki bar.
Anyways, back to my day. The rain was on again off again for most of the morning. I tried to stay in my tent for as long as possible, but finally had to get up and do something. The TV couldn't hold my attention because I had already seen all the NCAA tournament results.
It was time to go running. As I was getting ready, one of the guys staying in the next campsite told me about the Navy jets that were taking off and landing right down the road. I had heard them, but didn't think much of them. He let me know that it was possible to get right down at the end of the runway and watch them come in to land. I ran down that way, and he took his scooter.
We saw and heard at least a dozen planes take off, and he said they'd be landing in about 30-40 minutes. I decided to check out the beach. And then things got weird.
The beach was amazing, and there were very few people out there. I wandered down the beach, and saw a pretty sweet looking fort/house/hut type thing. It was amazingly complex. I found out later in the day that it was some artist who had been building it and living there. The Navy has been kicking him out for years apparently.
I also stumbled across a few chalked signs noting that this particular beach contained nudists. About 100 yards down the beach, there was an old guy in his 70's sitting in a beach chair under the shade of a tree. At first glance he seemed normal. Hat, check. Long sleeve shirt, check. Pants, nope. Oh holly golly! Seriously? Certainly not what I had been expecting, but I should have guessed the signs weren't lying. This marked the end of my beach exploration, and I immediately headed back to the Navy runway.
As I was headed back, I saw the first two planes coming in for landing. Amazing! They screamed in, barely above the trees. By the time the second two planes started to approach the landing strip, I was directly below their path. Several sets of smaller jets landed (F-5's?) first. They are kinda loud, and get very, very close to the ground as they pass. Later, two or three sets of bigger jets (F-18's?) flew in. Wow! These were almost deafening. If someone knows a lot about jets feel free to confirm or correct me.
We also got treated with a giant cargo plane. Perhaps a C-5? It looked like something out of a Star Wars movie it was so big.
I went back to the RV camp and relaxed for the rest of the day. The jets kept flying over, which I found amazing, but surely the locals have gotten bored with it. If you are interested in watching these jets in an paradise location, Geiger Key Marina is a fantastic place to do it.
Look like F-18 Hornets indeed. That bomber must have been frightening.
ReplyDeleteYeah. I can't imagine seeing any of those planes if I knew they were an enemy. Quite intimidating.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was informed that the cargo plane was a C-17, not a C-5. This is evident due to the turned up wing tips.