We were enjoying the waves, large driftwood, and rock formations, while feeling the sand between our toes and skipping rocks on a Washington beach.  I happened to look up and behind us and saw a commercial jet make a sharp left turn from its northerly course.  “Where could it possibly be going?” we wondered — there aren’t many obvious nearby destinations west of Washington state.  The turn didn’t straighten out and eventually made a full circle.  The plane appeared to have resumed course again, but then began a sharp right turn.  For several minutes we watched in amazement as this plane drew a nice figure-eight with its contrail before finally resuming its northerly course.  I quickly grabbed a modest camera and captured this aerial design before the wind erased the contrail.

 

We boring adults speculated that the pilot was instructed to kill some time due to high air traffic near the destination airport.  The children were better prepared to appreciate the wonder for what it was.  My son said that the plane was drawing designs in the sky — sky doodles.  I like his point of view better.