I had a few flickr emails asking if I had taken a picture of “my team” (my Mom) at Disneyland while we were there for the Endeavour flyover. I did and thought this location would be the perfect place since this sign probably won’t be seen at Disneyland again. Especially since "Endeavour" is misspelled!
So many people had gathered and it was really great how friendly people were being, sharing information about where Endeavour might be and when it might arrive. In particular we met 2 very nice ladies (I’m so sorry I forgot your names in all of the excitement) while we were waiting who helped pass the time with interesting and enjoyable conversations about our individual experiences at the Disneyland Resort. Ladies if you need a higher resolution picture of the shuttle flyover just email me and I’ll send them to you.
While we were waiting, I received a phone call or text message (I can’t remember) from my co-worker Geri, telling me that the shuttle had just flown by her in Pasadena and was heading south towards Disneyland. We had all taken refuge from the heat (which was considerable) by waiting in the shade of the elevated monorail tracks.
I mentioned to the group that we probably should move out to the adjacent open plaza area between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure so we could get a better view when Endeavour arrived. We started walking toward the thousands of people that had gathered there when several people across the plaza started screaming and pointing to the sky. I could hear the roar of approaching jets and quickly moved forward while turning and raising my camera to the sky. I immediately saw the SCA with Endeavor and sensed more than saw the F-18 Hornet chase planes. I started tracking Endeavour which was right over my head and began firing off shots. By the time she was out of sight, I had taken almost 40 images. The crowd began applauding and screaming wildly. Nobody left, we all were hoping for another pass but it wasn’t in the cards.
We heard talk that the SCA had to loiter near Northern California waiting for fog to burn off and therefore had to accelerate the flight schedule to meet fuel fractionation requirements for landing at LAX. I did hear on the news that one of the fly-over sites was skipped completely greatly disappointing the mass of people who had gathered there. I guess we were fortunate to see Endeavour at all. I know we will never forget it.