The C-130 Hercules aircraft with four propellers, a plane known as "Fat Albert," flew low over San Francisco Bay on Sunday afternoon, but that wasn't enough excitement for Craig Dimalanta's boys.

"Fall down!" Dean, 7, and Josh 5, shouted as they stood against a railing along the Embarcadero.

"Don't say that!" their father said.

"Fall down, then pull up!" the boys corrected.

The Hercules family was not alone in its exuberance as the Fleet Week air show roared over San Francisco and a bay full of boats on a strikingly warm day graced by a deep-blue sky.

Hundreds of thousands of people - some who said they wanted to honor the military, others who said they just wanted to see an amazing show - packed the waterfront to watch, or stood on rooftops, or partied on sailboats, yachts and cruise ships. Some gathered on the rims of parking garages.

It was enough to choke up Susan Moore, 54, a self-described "military brat" from Napa standing near Pier 30. Her father, now deceased, served in the Navy, the Air Force and the Army.

"I'm going to cry. I wouldn't do it for a rock star," Moore said as four of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels' F/A-18 Hornet jets flew straight up in tight formation. "But I'd do it for them."

Moments later, four planes headed straight up again before curling off in four different directions, leaving smoke trails behind.

"Flower," exclaimed 2-year-old Diego River of Oakland while sitting in his uncle's arms. "More, more, more!"

The Canadian Forces Snowbirds did their tricks, too, but the Blue Angels were the main attraction. When their roar was heard, everybody craned to find them in the sky - from wide-eyed kids to bikers at Pier 23, from drivers stuck in traffic on the Embarcadero to vendors selling pretzels, churros and ice cream. Even the guy with the "Jesus Christ Loves You" sign took a look.

"I'd like to be up there," said Amir Sabeti, a 17-year-old student at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill who said he already has his pilot's license. "I can say it's pretty hard, at least from what I've experienced."

Sabeti said he knows how to nose-dive. But, he added, "No upside down."

Fleet Week, an unabashed celebration of the armed forces, has been held in the Bay Area in its modern form since 1981. Sunday's event featured music festivals and ship tours. And not far away was the 140th Italian Heritage Day Parade from Fisherman's Wharf to North Beach.

It also was a marketing opportunity for the armed forces. The Marines set up a recruiting booth where they counted how many pull-ups visitors could do.

Abram Coleman, a 25-year-old Navy petty officer third class, was walking around San Francisco in his dress whites as the air show began. He came to the city aboard the Pinckney, a guided-missile destroyer from San Diego that docked at Pier 15 at 10 a.m. Sunday.

"We had a long line of people who wanted to see our ship," Coleman said. "That was awesome. People are actually interested in what we do."

For a video and more pictures from the Blue Angels' flights over San Francisco, go to