US Navy Blue Angels – Wandering Dawgs

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #376 – Wings

November 29, 2025November 29, 2025Posted in Birds, Butterflies, PhotographyTagged Air craft, Airplanes, Angels, Butterflies, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, US Army Air Corps, US Navy Blue Angels, USAF Thunderbirds, Wings99 Comments

This week it’s my pleasure to host the Lens-Artists Challenge. I am challenging you to feature anything with wings. To give you a few ideas I am featuring some of my favorite things with wings.

Bird Wings

Butterflies and other insects

Angels

Military Aircraft

My final examples are of military aircraft. My father was a pilot in the Army Air Corps in World War II and later flew several other types of planes including the B52. The first three planes in this gallery were taken at recent air shows I attended. The images of the B24 and B52 are from my father’s photos.

U. S. Navy Blue Angels — U. S. Air Force Thunderbird

When you think of wings do you think of birds, insects, angels and airplanes? Maybe you think of art work featuring fantasy beings like dragons and fairies. Whatever you think of I hope you will join in for this week’s challenge. I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to this post.

Last week you showed us some creative mysterious images in your responses to Patti’s challenge Mysterious.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, December 6 at noon eastern time when Ann-Christine will be hosting the challenge.

For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift

Wandering Dawgs 2017 Year in Review

December 20, 2017January 20, 2018Posted in Alabama, Georgia, RVing, WaterfallsTagged Callaway Gardens, FD Roosevelt Little White House, Tallulah Gorge, US Navy Blue Angels, USAF Thunderbirds25 Comments

This year was a little different for the Wandering Dawgs. Instead of traveling to far away places, we had many memorable adventures by staying close to home in 2017.

Our RV travel started with a short spring trip to Pine Mountain, Georgia to tour nearby Callaway Gardens and F. D. Roosevelt’s Little White House .

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Trail at Callaway Gardens

FDR's Little White House in Warm Springs, GA — FDR’s Little White House in Warm Springs, GA

From Pine Mountain we continued on to Alabama to attend an air show at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. All of the performances were exciting but the stars of the show were the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.

U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds at Maxwell Air Show

Seeing the Thunderbirds was so much fun we made a day trip to the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina to see the United States Blue Angels perform.

Our final RV trip of the year was a fall getaway to north Georgia to see Mountains, waterfalls, and Tallulah Gorge .

20171017NC-Nantahala-National-Forest-Waterfalls-(18) — Dry Falls near Highlands, NC in the Nantahala National Forest

20171019Tallulah-Gorge-Suspension-Bridge-(10) — Suspension Bridge over Tallulah Gorge Hurricane Falls

Visiting New York City with my daughter was one of the highlights of my year.

Just like we’ve been doing every fall since the 1970’s we made several trips to Athens to attend University of Georgia’s home games.

20171014UGA-53-Mizzou-28-(11) — The teams take the field for pregame practice before a night game in Sanford Stadium

And when we were home we when for boat rides and walked on the beach whenever we could.

20170813Boat-ride-(13) — Small island in the Georgia salt marsh

20171027South-Beach-Tybee-(3) — Early morning at the beach

My Wandering Around America One State at a Time blog project was really fun to do. As I worked on the post for each state I loved going through old photographs and reading my hand written trip journals. With each state I was flooded with many fond memories of places we had been and the wonderful people we met.

Where do you think we will wander next year? Stay tuned…

Look! Up in the Air! Navy Style

May 25, 2017Posted in Entertainment, South CarolinaTagged Air Show, aviation, United States Marine Corps, United States military aircraft, United States Navy, US Navy Blue Angels12 Comments

Earlier this spring, we took our RV to Montgomery, Alabama to see an air show at Maxwell Air Force Base which featured the USAF Thunderbirds. Three weeks later we made a day trip to the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina for their air show featuring the United States Navy’s flight demonstration team, the Blue Angels.

This was my first time on a Marine Corps station and my first time seeing the Blue Angels perform. It was a thrilling day from beginning to end.

Before the performances began we wandered around the static displays featuring historic and modern aircraft from the Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.

20170430Blue-Angels-(36) — Spirit of America used in Berlin Airlift

20170430Blue-Angels-(18) — Historic USAF Plane

20170430Blue-Angels-(26) — USMC Helicopter

20170430Blue-Angels-(54) — We were able to get up close to this USAF Thunderbird on display

We were able to snag front row seats beside the runway. That meant some of the planes went right in front of us as they taxied to their position for takeoff. The USMC AV-88 Harrier II and the F-16 Viper were just two of the military aircraft that performed impressive demonstrations.

20170430Blue-Angels-(69)-USMC-AV-8B-Harrier-II — The pilot waves to the crowd as he taxis down the runway before take off

20170430Blue-Angels-(432) — The Wild Weasel

20170430Blue-Angels-(338) — Hovering in front of the crowd

20170430Blue-Angels-(354) — Refueling Demonstration

20170430Blue-Angels-(361) — US Marine Corps Helicopter Demonstration

The Geico Skytypers and other performers kept us entertained for several hours.

20170430Blue-Angels-(234) — Geico Skytypers at MACS Beaufort Air Show

20170430Blue-Angels-(250) — Geico Skytypers at MACS Beaufort Air Show

20170430Blue-Angels-(414) — Love when the planes fly upside down

20170430Blue-Angels-(561) — These historic military planes put on a great show

The US Navy Blue Angels put on a fantastic show that wowed the crowd with each new formation. They flew by so fast it wasn’t until I got home and looked closely at my photos that I realized how really close together they fly. Their precision is just amazing.

20170430Blue-Angels-(959)-Formation — U. S. Navy Blue Angels

I am so grateful we had the opportunity to see both the US Air Force Thunderbirds and US Navy Blue Angels this year. Both teams will be performing at more air shows around the United States this year. If you have a chance to see a show near you, it will be a day you always remember.