Fleet Week in San Francisco

On October 6^th, San Francisco hosted Fleet Week, which included an air show featuring some of the country’s best pilots. This particular weekend in San Francisco was called the best weekend ever because of the many events hosted in the city over the weekend.

I had never heard of Fleet Week prior to moving to San Francisco until a friend mentioned it at a party she was hosting, and it was this same friend who kindly invited us over to a party on her roof deck to see the Maritime Parade and the Air Show.

One of the highlights of the air show was the appearance of the Blue Angels, a U.S. flight demonstration squadron formed in 1946. Six planes and pilots fly the F/A-18 Hornet, “a twin engine supersonic, all weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets,” and capable of doing some of the most amazing pirouettes I have ever seen!

As the date of the show drew closer, I started to get really excited about seeing the air show. On the Friday before the party, while I was out with a friend walking our dogs, we were startled by the sound of jets flying extremely low, practicing their stunts. When I looked up, there were several blue planes with yellow lines. I was pretty sure those were the Blue Angels.

On the day of the party, we decided to walk to my friend’s house who has a gorgeous place in Cow Hollow. Her roof deck has fabulous views of Alcatraz, the Bay, and pretty good peaks of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The show started at 1:00 p.m. and went on until 4:00 p.m., with the Blue Angels closing it.

One of my favorite parts of the show, besides the Angels was watching a huge Boeing 747 flying very low and slow, and moving in a way you would think was impossible for such a big aircraft.

After a great show, fabulous food (thanks to my friend Claire’s superb cooking skills), and fun company, we headed back home the same way we had arrived there: walking.

Bomber came with us to the party because my friend Claire invited him (Claire and I met a while ago at the park when she was out with her two lovely dogs and I was out with Bomber—we are dog park friends!). After an hour walk each way, our puppy was tired and very happy.

As much as I enjoyed the air show, I think next year I’ll be heading to the Hardly Strictly Blue Grass Festival instead. Nonetheless, I was happy to have seen it!


I hope you enjoyed my pictures from the Air Show. For more fun photos, visit my Etsy store at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/WorldPhotosByPaola