If you didn’t know it already, plane spotting is an activity. Grownups gather to watch planes take off and land. There are also Youtube live streams from LA and other big cities. The YouTuber will announce the planes as they take off and land, the style of plane, the name and the destination or where it arrived from.

There is also plane lingo such as “turn and burn”. This is when the plane turns onto the runway and guns it, taking off using little runway.

We took some time Thursday to watch planes here in Anchorage near the Ted Stephen’s Airport.

The rush you get from the sounds when the plane is over you is phenomenal. I even heard a sound that was new to me, after the planes passed over. It sounded like a kite flying in the wind. (I’ll try to find the correct term for this.)

It was fun to watch, though I still enjoyed Maho “Airport” Beach in St Marteen more, due to the tropical location. The planes are also closer to you at Maho. I recommend putting that on your travel bucket list!

Here are a few pictures. My favorite picture is the one with three people in the frame. You’ll notice all three people are holding their phones up, recording the planes.