Space Shuttle Endeavour's Final Flight

What an amazing day this was.  I quickly drove home from work and scooped up Dena who had a picnic lunch, the dog and lawn chairs waiting.  We raced off to Kenneth Hahn park in Baldwin Hills and had a very easy time of getting a primo spot.  Not too many people were there.  I chatted with other people and the excitement in the air was thick.  We were expecting the 747 with the shuttle on top to come in from Santa Monica Pier after its fly by on the San Francisco bridge, then go down Wilshire, do a circle around city hall, up to the Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood sign and then make a circuit back out over the ocean.

The pilots of the 747 had no real flight plan to adhere to and as long as they kept in touch with air traffic controllers they could do whatever they wanted, and they did, much to the delight of people all over the southland, including Disneyland where tourists from all over the world got a once in a lifetime sight.

Here are some shots I took as we were startled as Endeavour flew right over our heads.  We had no idea it would be so close, we were busy looking much north and had to do a quick one eighty as the roar came overhead.  Click on the pictures to make them larger.  Yes, those are fighter jets escorting the shuttle.