It has been said many times of the eldest child in the family that he can adapt to just about any environment (nicknamed Adapt-a-Jake). We are learning that this trait is one reason that USAFA is a good fit for him, since he has been placed in many different situations and endured many changes over the past two years. What I love to see is that no matter where he is, he’s just Jake–just himself.

He kicked off his summer by flying to Sacramento, CA, to be stationed at Travis AFB for a few weeks. He faithfully texts pictures and sends updates, which makes this mother very happy! Jake is in the process of gathering as much information from Air Force officers about various jobs in the AF. One job he is particularly interested in is piloting “heavys”, such as very large cargo planes. His first week at Travis, he went inside a C-17 and spoke with the three-man crew about what it’s like to fly this behemoth aircraft.

And if the C-17 wasn’t big enough, another day the USAFA group of cadets entered the largest aircraft in the Air Force: the C-5 Galaxy.

For Jake, this experience has certainly fanned the flame of wanting to be a pilot!

But his time in CA has not been all business. The cadets have had ample time to explore northern California. They toured San Francisco during their first weekend there.

They had beautiful weather to go with the beautiful scenery!

I get all sorts of pictures of nature from Jake, but I admit my favorites are the photos of him.

This one made me chuckle…

because when I zoomed in on what was hanging from underneath his shirt, this is what I saw:

Apparently, the group toured a Krispy Kreme store. I now have a video of the doughnuts going through the glaze machine.

This picture proves that no matter where Jake is, his eyes are looking up to the heavens. I have a half dozen pictures of this sun with a halo. Most people wouldn’t give this scene a second thought. But Jake found the beauty in it.