Jamison and I went to the Oregon International Air Show today. The last time we went was about ten years ago. A lot is different. Jamison is ten years older (duh!). We remembered to bring hearing protection. And we splurged for reserved seating.

We arrived shortly after the gates opened, long before the flying program started, so we walked around the static exhibits. Jamison investigated careers in flight and we entered a drawing for a demo flight. I completed an Oregon Air National Guard survey so I could ride their spinning thing and got a water bottle, too! With Hillsboro’s temperature peaking at 90° today, that was a nice score.

Jamison attempted to ride a bike with handlebars connected to the front wheel through reversing gearing — turning the handlebar left turned the wheel right. Anyone who could ride it eight feet without putting a foot down would win $100. Unfortunately, their money was quite safe. The operator easily demonstrated the feat but admitted practicing had so rewired his brain that he doubted he could ride a normal bike without difficulty.

When the show was about to start, we found our seats, sprayed on some sunscreen, and started guzzling water. We enjoyed skydiving, a couple of quarter-scale RC planes, jets from multiple branches of the military, home-built experimental planes, aerobatics, and even a couple of jet-powered cars/trucks.

When the jets were flying, we were glad we had earplugs. All day long, we were glad there was plenty of water to refill our water bottles. Now that it’s over, I’m glad I remembered the sunscreen and my camera.