7-31-09 Friday (Major Nelson)

I had hoped today’s continuation of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) would be better today.  It was, except I forgot the camera.  That has never happened in a year of traveling.  Once we arrived, we purchased a disposable camera.   It was weird looking through a view finder.  On many occasions I held up the camera, away from my face and expected something to happen.  Ugh.  This post will be pictureless since I’ll have to get the photos developed.  You’ll just have to use your imagination.

We heard Space Shuttle Endeavor re-enter the atmosphere today.  It created a double sonic boom at about 10:30 am.  I was walking Dasher and even though I was expecting it sometime this morning, it still startled me.  Dasher and I jumped.

We saw another 3D IMAX movie.  This one was about the International Space Station.  It was about the evolution of it.  A great movie.

Next was Astronaut Encounter.  This showing featured Apollo 15 pilot, Al Worden.  He spoke about a lot of mission stuff, what it was like for him, etc.  Interesting.  BUT not interesting to children.  I heard a lot of crying, and whining.  It was annoying.  Take the kids to Disney, not KSC.

We took a bus tour to the Observation Gantry which views Launch Pads 39a and 39b.  This was 4 stories up.  We watched a movie about something but Jim and I are confusing all that we saw.  We’ll say it was good though and leave it at that.

The next bus tour stop was to the Apollo/Saturn V Center.  Look at the photo below.  This place was massive.  It housed a full size Saturn Moon Rocket complete with all of it’s stages and capsules.  There was a movie here too.

 

While on the tour bus, we did see Endeavor being transported to a special hangar (I forget the name).  It was off in the distance but could still be seen.

Today was better.  Tomorrow, we’re off to Fort Lauderdale!  Almost home!

7-30-09 Thursday (It’s a Small World)

We’ve departed St. Augustine and have continued South into Florida. Kennedy Space Center being the destination. They often call it KSC for short which kept sounding like KFC. The first few times I heard an announcement, I was so excited that they had a KFC on site. Yeah, I know, and I can tell you that later in the evening, I stepped on a scale and confirmed that I am at my all time high. I’m not worried, it’s all good, diet and exercise here I come.

My review of KSC? Lame. It’s $38 a person. It’s all an outdoor building to building type setup like Disney. I was expecting it to be more like the Bureau of Engraving. All under one big roof, and lots of exhibits. The theme park similarities are horrible. After you park in section John Glenn 5 or the like, you walk to ticketing which is approximately 10 booths.

I later found out that the entrance fee is so that this place doesn’t cost tax payer monies. Boooooooo.

Next was the Shuttle Launch Experience. It’s a simulator that uhhhhh simulates what you’d feel if you were in the shuttle during uhhhhhhh launch. Jim and I had some minor negative criticisms about it but all in all I was feeling better about the place.

We walked over to this full sized replica of the Space Shuttle Explorer. I thought it was real, but the park map and website both conclude it’s not. This particular attraction was lame, not because of KSC’s involvement. Well, you walk up all this ramp action to see that everything is crammed into the nose and the rest is cargo. I mean crammed! I think they have less space than our RV. I’m serious. I wasn’t expecting luxury but I was expecting more.

These were interesting but we didn’t see a sign to explain what it was all about. The funny thing is fellow Blogger Mandi came here a day or two before us. She enjoyed it. So Mandi, what the hell was the program in the picture below about?

Below is the Astronaut Memorial. It wasn’t all that nice and it was kind of eerie that they left spaces for future expansion.

Below is my snack bar bitch. It’s hot out. There’s no shade near the snack bar except for 1 table that has an umbrella. Way to go Disney, errrrrr KSC.

Below: So, the refillable for free souvenir cup is very phallic looking.

Below: Rocket Garden. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Below: Waiting at NASA Central for the program to start.

Above: A nostril shot. Can you see my brain? I can’t either. I wonder what that mea… shiny. Below is a shot of above. Does that make sense?

We heard about current news and tidbits of info here. It was somewhat interesting.

At the 3D IMAX theater we saw a movie about the Apollo missions. It was pretty good.

We came back to the RV and then relocated the rig (we parked at the KSC) to Seasons in the Sun RV Resort, set up and then off to Publix for something we’ve missed. A Publix Boar’s Head sub and Publix salads. Finally, a decent macaroni salad and sub! In case you wanted to know, I had the Italian and Jim had a Roast Beef and Swiss.

I hope tomorrow's KSC trip is better!

7-29-09 Wednesday (Collision – Part 2)

It’s a Happy Birthday Jim Day! Yay! Last year we stayed at the Groves RV Resort while we got our shit together to hit the road. We made reservations for the same park for our return. Recently, Jim found other related communities (all part of Sun Communities) and today we moved our reservation to a different park for the same price but with a lot more amenities, such as a hot tub. We’ll be calling Indian Creek RV Resort our home for a month or two.

Alix picked us up once again and continued as our fabulous hostess/tour guide. She made several lunch suggestions, but once she mentioned Gypsy Cab Company, Jim chose it. Jim remembered hearing the name (positively) years ago while in college. Off we went… The verdict? Great food! We’d go back if we were in the area again.

On a side note, it was so fitting to go to a restaurant with “gypsy” in it’s name. This word is what brought Alix and I together. The short story is she “offended” a cakewrecks.com reader and I was one of the people who defended her choice of words. It blew up into a big internet blogging commenting battle of sorts. The long story is here on Alix’s blog from December 8th, 2008. Thanks Cakewrecks!

Recently having had our bellies full, it was time to walk it off. We tried to get Alix’s sister Lisa back out for a day’s adventure, but she “had” to work. We were bummed that she didn’t come out to play. Alix texted her the photo below.

“Please Lisa… C’mon.”

We walked to Castillo de San Marcos, the old Fort Matanzas National Monument. Sure it was rich in history. Sure it offered good views. Sure it was damn hot out and I was tired of sweating. We didn’t even do the self guided tour. Did I mention it was hot out? We took some photos, so just be happy with these:

Above: Drama Queen?

Above/Below: XXX

Above: Hard to believe she’s almost twice my age. Well, maybe not that much.

Above: We called him “dude”.

Above: Of course I have a stupid look on my face. This was the dumb doorway to one of the rooms.

Above: We were going for a “strong look” but I think it may look like we’re a little constipated.

Above: I resisted pushing her off and into the water.

We left the fort, walking along the sea wall. Check out the sea turtle below!

Alix showed us around Flagler College… her Alma Mater.

Below: The afternoon rains began.

We spotted some old cars parked at the Casa Monica Hotel. We took several photos, and had some fun.

The best part? The bell hops who helped us with our photos told us the inside of the hotel was cool and we should go inside. We did. We decided to have a few drinks, and indulge in the free fruit, cheese and crackers. Yum.

Where has the day gone? We went back to the RV, walked the dog and planned out dinner. It’s Jim’s birthday! Where does he want to go? The Columbia for a repeat of last night. Well, not exactly a repeat. Lisa was still missing in action, and we decided to have bread, soup (a bowl instead of a cup this time) and salad only. Again, it was delicious.

Above: Time to embarrass Jim with a happy birthday song from the staff. Check out the woman clapping in the air. I love this trapped in time type photo. Can you imagine your face freezing like that?

Right next to the Columbia is a Ghost walking tour place.

We started this GPS walking tour pretty late. The battery didn’t seem like it would make it the full time. We swapped it with another unit. It started raining again. Lightning was fairly heavy. We gave up, returned the unit and got a refund. No big deal, we discovered we would have been doing this tour after midnight, and then would still need to drive back to the RV, exchange photos, goodbyes and then Alix would have another 20 minute drive to get home. It was for the best that we skipped it.

It’s been an awesome couple of days, Thanks for the memories Alix! We had a blast. Eventually, we’ll be back to harass you.