Spirit Of America

Goodyear houses a blimp in Carson which is just up the freeway from Long Beach. In our former stay, when we had a car, we often drove by it and I always marveled at its shape and form, but we were always on a freeway going 60+ miles an hour (except when traffic dictated otherwise, which was often) and could never find a convenient place to stop for a photograph. This afternoon, while sitting on our balcony, I head the particular whine of the engine and it flew directly overhead. I quickly grabbed my camera and shot a few frames, liking this close up the best. According to the official website it was christened 5 September 2002 and is of the older design - 192 feet long versus 246.4 feet (for the newer 2014 versions), 50 feet wide versus 64.79 feet, 59.54 feet tall versus 57.57 feet and a top speed of 50 mph versus 73 mph. Still going strong, however, and a joy to see in the sky above our place.