Up in the air

Photo courtesy L. Lind

This morning, with much fanfare, the Space Shuttle Endeavor flew over California, taking off from Edwards Air Force Base and making an extended loop over the state.


Coming in low over the Pier and the beach hotels

The route took it over California landmarks like the capitol in Sacramento, the Golden Gate Bridge, Santa Barbara and Point Mugu. Here in Los Angeles County, it flew along the coast of Malibu, past the Getty Villa, and at almost exactly 12:00 noon, it flew over the Santa Monica Pier, then banked east over Shutters on the Beach, Cha Cha Chicken, and the Bay Shore Lanes Bowling Alley, headed for a loop over downtown.

View of downtown Santa Monica

We hung out on a rooftop, watching all the people on all the other rooftops, high school kids at the outdoor amphitheatre at SAMOHI, and straining our eyes for a glimpse. The skies were hazy, though the sun was bright.


Yellow parasail right below it, people on the roof at Rand

 When it came, it came in low. we could see it through the angle of a construction crane on Ocean Avenue. Some lucky guy in a parasail over the beach got a close-up view of it.

It angled overhead, then passed and faded into the southward haze.

I got a few shots of it, but my friend Louis got the fantastic shot of it that's above. Click any photo to "embiggen."