Crowley Family Blog: FATHER'S DAY 2010

We started the day with a relaxing, but very windy, breakfast at Wente Vineyards Golf Course, Club House. The boys had fun this time because they got to bring their electronics AND no one else was eating outside so they had full rein of the patio!

Dad and his Boys

After breakfast, some of us took a little nappy-poo, but then snapped back into action for Dadda's BIG surprise...a tour of and flight on the last flying B24 bomber! He was so surprised and excited to finally take the ride that he'd talked about doing for years. Evert year we would both be reminded of these cool planes over Memorial Day when they would take passengers out to flight from the Livermore airport. Then, we'd forget about it all year until the next Memorial Day weekend. This year, I decided it would be a fun thing for Dad and kids to do (at least tour them) together. The kids loved climbing up through the old warbirds and after about 45 min. of play, we were all asked to leave the tarmac area accept for the passengers. Michael got a quick tutorial, "1) don't touch any of the exposed wires, those are for all the electrical controls, 2) don't touch the exposed cables, those are what control the direction of the plane, 3) don't step on those panel doors (used to hold in the bombs!!!), because if you do THEY WILL OPEN AND YOU WILL FALL OUT!" Excellent tutorial and surprisingly, not one of them didn't follow the rules. It was a very clear and warm day, so the charted course to head to San Francisco was perfect. Michael was able to see some uninhabited mountain land in our area just prior to flying out over the bay and circling Alcatraz. He said it was an amazing flight, "one of the most memorable things he's ever done" and apparently even held a sacred spot on his "bucket list". For the kids and I, it was also a thrill to see him take off and land.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY BABE!! XO