one big-ass disappointment

After seeing the A380 landing yesterday, I was excited to go back and see it take off for the first time out of LAX. I live close enough in Manhattan Beach that I can see planes take off over the ocean; and when riding on the bike path, there's always something kinda cool about seeing the bigger planes fly right over you, so I could only imagine what it would be like to see this one. It was published that it would fly out between 7:15 and 7:45 in the evening, so I drove over to the airport. Much bigger crowds this time than for the landing, probably from all the media coverage the landing got. Not long after parking, I walked by someone in a car who said "the plane already left". What?? Really? Apparently, it flew out unannounced just after 6pm. They were just as disappointed. I walked over to the crowd, just in case. What if they were wrong? I could pick up mutterings from different people saying the same thing. It certainly wasn't anywhere to be seen. Little kids gathering kept pointing at 747's and asking their parents if that was it. I finally called my friend Heith and asked him to do a Google News search as I heard several others on phones asking similar things. He confirmed that it had in fact already gone. What a disappointment. I'm just glad I hadnt rushed or traveled far like so many others said they had. I probably would have seen it out my window had I been looking.

Realizing it was Tuesday, I asked Heith if he had any interest in Taco Tuesday. Sure! Wheee. All was not lost. So he and our friend Mark came down later and we walked over to OBs for peanuts, tacos, beer, and wings. Leave it to tacos to make up for lifes disappointments. I'll just have to wait til fall of 08 to see the A380 take off. That's a lot of tacos til then.