It’s been awhile since we’ve had time for travel so I’m really looking forward to this year. Being newly retired with plenty of time and freedom, I plan to take full advantage of the opportunity.
Our first trip was to the 50th annual Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, FL. It’s America’s largest geographical air show encompassing 50 acres of aircraft and an estimated 200,000 attendees. Of course, this particular travel destination was primarily Riley’s idea but when he told me it would be similar to the EAA air show we attended in Oshkosh, I was on board. It’s impossible not to be impressed with the sheer size and scale of an event like this.
Riley could have chosen to fly his plane there as many pilots do, but with the 1000 or so planes expected, it would have been quite overwhelming to navigate that kind of air traffic. So instead, we washed the pollen off Charlie, stocked the refrigerator, loaded up the bikes and set out on the first camping trip since last summer. Rather than drive all the way to Lakeland in one trip, we opted for a brief stay at Jekyll Island campground, one of our favorite places to visit.
It was nice to stretch our legs riding to dinner along the scenic bike path that goes around the island and then returning along the beach just in time to see the sunset.
The main campground was already full when we arrived at the Lakeland International Airport the next day so we followed the camper in front of us to the overflow camping area. The overflow campground was actually a cow pasture that’d been repurposed for the week. Uh, what?!
We chose a site with plenty of room to spread out between two campers. As I was surveying the site, making mental notes of the locations of all the dried up cow patties in the vicinity, an F-35 zoomed overhead. The roar that followed seconds after it streaked past was deafening. I have to say it was pretty good timing to shift my attention to something more appealing.
The campsite actually wasn’t bad, in spite of the remnants left by the previous tenants. The weather was pretty great too with sunny, warm weather and cool breezes nearly every day. A hard storm one afternoon brought several inches of rain and created huge puddles in low lying areas. Fortunately none of those were right beside us but we did have to navigate around or through them for a couple days. Riley was amused to see dabbling ducks in these ponds not long after the rain stopped. So funny how they appeared so quickly.
Country music artists Dylan Scott and Sara Evans put on an opening night concert. The music was great and the weather was perfect for sitting outside and enjoying the show. Riley was a good sport about it but country music isn’t really his thing. After the long walk back to the van and we were both pretty worn out.
It’s hard to describe the scale of the expo. There were vendors of every kind of aviation related product or service you can imagine, food vendors, impressive displays of aircraft for sale from fancy jets to experimental planes to vintage planes and more.
We rode our bikes the mile or so from the campground to the entrance each day and then walked about 5-7 miles around the expo browsing the vendor exhibits, collecting swag and enjoying the sights and demonstrations. Shuttles and volunteers on golf carts offered rides to get around as well. The whole event is well organized and run efficiently. It’s obvious that they’ve learned what works over the 50 years.
The daily air shows were my favorite with military aircraft demonstrations from historical fighter planes to modern supersonic jets, daring aerobatics, skywriting, gliders, hot air balloons, parachuters and more. The highlight was the incredible demonstration of the F-16 Flying Falcon by the USAF Thunderbirds.
Another highlight was the Night Fireworks and Air show with music, lasers, pyrotechnics, airplanes, drones and explosions so large they radiated heat from 300 yds away. So incredible!
After four nights at the expo, we camped at General Coffee State Park near Douglas, GA for a stopover before returning home.
I have to say Riley’s passion for aviation is rubbing off on me a bit. Maybe I’ll consider flying lessons in the future. Maybe…
More photos here: https://zcs.smugmug.com/SunNFun
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