What a wonderful time Harvey and I had in Florida! I don't know where to begin!! We went primarily to watch the shuttle launch. It was amazing! (am I using enough exclamation marks?)
The launch was scheduled for 6:30'ish in the morning. We met new friends in the parking lot of Harry's condo at 3:15 am. Now, we are RETIRED. We often sleep in late in the morning. (Did I say late???) By 4:00 we were all loaded aboard a chartered bus and on our way to the Banana River Viewing Site (a very close viewing area). Sitting in the pre-dawn darkness with an intimate viewing group of 5000, we were gifted with a space station flyover just 5 minutes before the launch. It was almost surreal. As if everything were being planned to maximize the experience for us. Then we all chanted the famous countdown together and the dark was lit with the most incredible white light as the shuttle lifted off accompanied by sound waves that shuddered through my chest. Even the ground shook. WOW, WOW, WOW. The shuttle flew almost out of sight and then hit the sunlight and lit up again, this time the main engine exhaust glowing a ghostly white behind the tiny craft. AMAZING.... And our little brother was sitting in firing room 4! Can you believe it???
The condo we stayed in was located on Coco Beach. Harvey and I enjoyed walking to the beach and sitting in the breeze watching the waters of the Atlantic and enjoying watching sailboats, parasailers, surfers, and beachcombers walking along the sand. It was so peaceful. The weather was perfect. We weren't bothered with the steam of summer.
The pelicans were pretty fascinating for a couple of landlocked senior citizens. They looked like prehistoric birds flying.
And, speaking of weird experiences for landlocked senior citizens...:
Try to picture Harvey and I shopping at the holy grail of surf shops, the original Ron Jon's in Coco Beach. We went specifically to purchase Vicki a tiki lighter that she had seen and regretted not buying on her trip to Florida. The eyes light up and the flame comes out the top of its head. Everyone should have at least one.
The day after the launch we went on a "gold ticket" tour of Nasa. Now, this is a big deal! Gold ticket tours are very hard to get. Obama will be visiting Nasa next week and he will take a gold ticket tour. There were just four of us on the tour. Harvey wasn't feeling well and missed it. So, it was Harry and his sister and his friend, Fred Perkins, and his sister. We saw things that Fred and Harry had never seen. We went everywhere. We saw the motors in process of being assembled, visited the tile manufacturing area, and walked under the shuttle that was being inspected after the previous shuttle flight. We saw the tiles being replaced and re-sealed and even handled the tiles that protect the shuttle. We saw both launch pads and the mobile launcher that is under construction for the post-shuttle program. We could ask any question and see anything we wanted.
Thank you, Harry, for the vacation of a lifetime!
