Helicopters

One of the things I noticed once we moved here was the number of helicopters flying around. Yeah, that sounds strange, I suppose, but they are more common here than back east. Certainly we had the traffic reports from the sky, but out here you get televised views of freeway chases, in addition to the standard patrols! How cool is that!! And they pre-empt TV for this (well, at least I have seen it in LA). The only other place I recall being where there were more helicopters was Sao Paulo, Brazil - every tall building there has a heliport, and most of the high-ranking executives and rich folks travel by helicopter because of safety issues (it's harder to kidnap someone in a helicopter), and for convenience.

The highway patrol here seems to have plenty of these air vehicles to shlep around in, and survey activities from the sky - you often see them nearby, circling around. And so do the local police, or maybe it's the state police - we recently had one flying over our house in Carlsbad around 9 at night with the lights on, scouring the ground, and someone on the broadcast system asking anyone to call the police if they spotted an elderly gentleman with Alzheimmer's who had walked away from a nearby assisted-living facility. This certainly seemed like a wise thing to do, but a new experience none the less.

I also clearly live in the traffic lanes of helicopter commuters (I assume coming from and going to Palomar Airport). They fly overhear multiple times a day and at night. And of course there are the frequent Coast Guard copters flying along the coast, and the occasional military helicopter from Camp Pendleton (you are more likely to see them in training operations when you drive along the 5 to or from LA).

On a related note there is lots of hot air ballooning around here. We can see them from our house, sometimes 8 or 10 at a time in the distance (I often see the RE/MAX balloon). There are a number of places where you can go for balloon rides in and around San Diego. Could be fun....