Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa and the Dragon Boat Festival on Tempe Town Lake

Having just a few hours to kill one afternoon, we headed for the small Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Museum at Falcon Field in Mesa.  Although this museum is small, having probably no more than 50 planes on display, if even that many, it was a nice museum.  What was really impressive though, the CAF Museum is run by volunteers, and volunteers do all the restoration work.  We got to see several planes they are in the middle of restoring now.

Of course, Gavin spotted this little plane right off.


He even had to try this one, too.



The largest plane at this museum was the B-17.  It still flys and they fly it on special occasions.  When it is not in the air, it is available and on display to walk through.  I had a backpack on and I had a hard time getting through because it was so tight. 


Max and I went to a Dragon Boat Festival in Burlington, VT, and really enjoyed it.  So, when we heard there was going to be a Dragon Boat Festival on Tempe Town Lake, we headed over to see what was happening.  Well, it was very different.  The one in Burlington was local and most of the teams were various companies in the area.  It was all for fun and charity, even giving out prizes for the best costumes.  This Dragon Boat Race was much more serious.  Teams from not only the US, but as far away as China, were here to compete.  Some were recreational teams, but many were college teams.  It was still great to watch and we all had a fun time.

They also had entertainment.  Here are some ladies doing a traditional hula.


The race itself lasted for three days, Sunday, the day we were there, being the final.  It was held in a round robin style, so we got to see the semi finals and finals, or in other words, the best of the best.


Here are some of my favorite guys, L to R:  Aaron, Carter (Max's grandson), Max, Cooper (Max's grandson, sitting), Adrion (standing), Gavin (with his back to us) and Sam.


This was a recreational team from Los Angeles I believe.  They were all breast cancer survivors, and most of them were over 50.  And yes, they won their heat.  U go girls!


This is a hand carved dragon boat from China.


3 comments:

Barbara and Ron said...

How did you hear about the Dragon Boat Festival? That really looked interesting and fun.

ladynomad said...

I think I heard about it on the radio or TV. But I might have been looking for things going on since my kids were here.

Alysa said...

This is cool!