Planes, Pets and Park Goers

Aug. 12, 2011 -- As Washington bakes in summer's heat, across the Potomac, fun-loving local residents take late-afternoon refuge by Reagan National Airport's runway 19. At Gravelly Point Park, it's an oasis of recreation: sports fields, fishing, pets and giant airplanes that fly a few hundred feet overhead.

"[This is] going to be embarrassing," said one park-goer as he watched one large plane's descent. "It looks like a 57. I was a design engineer on 57s for 20 years. And that's what it is. You can tell by the nose."

Some Gravelly Point visitors are reminded of another time.

"I think it's soothing. It kind of reminds me of living near a train track. You know how the noise is like white noise," said one man. "And you can lay and close your eyes and look and see how big the plane is, and it puts things in perspective."

Others see human accomplishment.

"I think it really amazing," said a tourist from overseas. "Man [can] create something fabulous like the plane." Planes, he said, are proof of human genius.

The scenic area, with large planes landing overhead a few 100 yards above visitors' heads, makes for picture-perfect photo opportunities.

For the nonsedentary types, the park's trails and fields welcome joggers, soccer players, Frisbee players and bikers -- all working out amid the planes.

For avid plane watchers -- and hard-core travelers -- perfect landings are a big hit.