La Cañada High students get an up close Endeavour flyby

La Cañada High students shouted “there it is” at 12:13 as Endeavour appeared from around the side of Flintridge, arced over Arroyo Seco and toward the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The lunch bell had just rung, but 70 students remained on the football bleachers to see the plane bank into a turn and offer a full profile of the shuttle as it headed back toward Los Angeles.

“It was, like, really awesome,” said seventh-grader Jeremy Kim. “History happened right in front of my eyes.”

Just off the high school campus, at the corner of Oak Grove Drive and Foothill Boulevard, Claudy Castilla said, “I cried.”

Her 3-year-old, Quinn, had been talking about it for a week, she said.

At St. Francis High School, students crowded the railings of classroom buildings with views of JPL and the San Gabriel mountains. As the shuttle banked nearly overhead, they raced from one side of the building to the other.

“I think it’s exciting,” said Shannon Hsu, 15, watching from the La Cañada High School football bleachers. “This won’t happen again.”

-- Bill Kisliuk, Times Community News

Follow Bill Kisliuk on Twitter: @bkisliuk