Today was a great day.  Today Sara and I celebrated my birthday.  She planned the whole thing out, so all I had to do was go along for the ride.

After sleeping in till 10:30 (due to a late night up in Hollywood catching District 9 with some old friends), we ate a breakfast of waffles and bacon with pineapple and apple juice.  We took our time and really enjoyed each other’s company.

Then, after cleaning up and getting directions, we headed up to the Van Nuys Airport.  Ever since I saw One Six Right, I wanted to go up to Van Nuys to see the airport firsthand and of course, to watch the airplanes.  We first tried the little viewing area to the west of the airport.  It’s a good area to sit and watch the planes come in, but isn’t the best for taking pictures or getting very close to the aircraft.  So, thanks to a posting on airliners.net, we went to the other side of the airport to the intersection of Arminta and Hayvenhurst.  The view wasn’t any better over there, but just before the corner we spotted several old airplanes and decided to stop.

The planes all belonged to the Condor Squadron, and we were able to go through the fence and walk among the planes.  They are all AT-6/SNJ trainers that were used in World War II.  We met Chris and John, two members who own individual planes.  They were cleaning up and refueling after doing a simulated dogfight over the Lane Victory earlier in the afternoon.  It was great to talk with them and learn a bit about their planes.  I took quite a few pictures, which I will try to post tomorrow.

After we left Van Nuys, we headed down to LAX and went to the Proud Bird for dinner.  Since we were early (only 5pm), it wasn’t crowded at all and we were able to get a table right on the window.  The prime rib and mashed potatoes were great and we just finished up the day with chocolate cake and a movie.

All in all it was a great day.  Thanks for making it special, babe.