Chris had to leave for Charlottesville for a quick trip on Saturday, but we managed a quick trip over to Atsugi before he had to catch the airport shuttle. Atsugi was having their annual Cherry Blossom Festival. This is one of Adam's favorites, since they open their flight line and let everyone see the aircraft up close and personal. They also open the base up to the Japanese. Some Japanese are huge military aircraft fans - they were lined up for about a mile (not an exaggeration!) waiting to get in, and that was before it even opened! Here they are, patiently waiting in line. Notice that one man has a cool flight jacket with patches from the different, uh, units? His is pretty basic, but a few had jackets that were completely covered. Luckily, we went in the back gate, and didn't have to wait in line.
Lottie and Adam were excited to sit in the helicopter. (I know nothing about the various aircraft, so you'll have to appreciate my generic terms of helicopter and airplane. That is why I married someone who joined the Army.)
Posing in front of another helicopter. Adam is so excited that he is jumping - can you see his feet are off the ground?
This helicopter had great pictures on it - a samari warrior on the tail (?) and Mount Fuji.
Back by popular demand, Adam got to "fire" the machine gun again.
Even Lottie got to fire the gun. She was a much more delicate shooter though.
Excited dancing in front of another cool painted plane.
The kids had a great time, even though it was FREEZING for cherry blossom time. I thought about staying for the bands, but the cold made our decision for us. We were able to see all the planes and helicopters in about fifteen minutes (as opposed to the hour it took last year when we went in the afternoon). Adam was okay with leaving (shocking, I know), since he was promised a Guamanian party with a bouncer afterwards. Those people from Guam sure know how to throw a party, plus they loaded me up with FIVE plates full of food to take home. Since it's just me and the kids this week, this means I don't have to cook for at least a few days!
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