The prose says: over the bay in San Diego in late December 1910 or early January 1911, a race was flown between the pioneer aviators Eugene Ely (who made the first flights in history from shipboard) and Hugh Robinson (who invented the tailhook that Ely used and then went on to formulate the concept of dive bombing).

Look up.

The prose says: on June 26, 1911, over what was then the German kingdom of Württemburg, in the service of DELAG, the world’s first airline, the zeppelin Schwaben flew past the railroad track down which was steaming the Offenburg-Freiburg Express.

Look down.

The prose says, “It was sure great.”

The solstitial light says something that can’t be said in words.

Note in prose: DELAG (Deutsche Luftschiffahrts AG, “German Airship Transport Corporation”) began operating on a regular schedule between cities in Germany in 1909.

Sources:

San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive, R. H. Macdonald album AL-75, image 00011. https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/14197432491/in/photostream/

“Wettrennen zwischen Schnellzug und Luftschiff,” http://timelineimages.sueddeutsche.de/wettrennen-zwischen-schnellzug-und-luftschiff-1911_192800

Both images photoshopped for contrast and sharpness.