Kennedy Space Center

Be prepared for a non-sailing tale. We probably wouldn't have done it on our own, but when Betty and John voiced interest in taking a day to visit the Kennedy Space Center, we decided it sounded like a good idea. How true! We were wowed two years ago when we arrived in St. Augustine in November and experienced our first lift-off of a space shuttle, Endeavor was on its way to the International Space Station and we watched from 100 miles away from the municipal pier in Salt Run, but it didn't begin to prepare us for the awe-inspiring day we spent at KSC.

We lucked out in that it was mid-week and a cool cloudy day, the parking lot was almost empty and the crowds non-existent. We managed to schedule ourselves really well and got to see all we wanted to see without having to wait in long lines or anything. We finally left around 5:30 pm and got back in time to enjoy a delicious salmon dinner aboard Andiamo. We will probably stay another day here in Titusville (can't pass up the "third night free" special they are offering) and get a few more "chores" done before we join our other Catalina crews further south. ~~~_/)~~~M&D The misty morning added a sense of mystique to the VAB (vehicle assembly building) at the Kennedy Space Center as we arrived for our day of discovery. The VAB is the largest single story building (although it is 52 stories high, it is only "one" story inside) in the world, or so KSC claims. It was only the first of the "scale" problems we encountered today! Also pictured are two launch pads, 39B lower left is being dismantled and rebuilt to launch future space flights while 39A to the right of B is where the last two shuttle missions will be launched. The large marble globe sports major constellations and rotates on a water fountain. The crawler transporter (lower right) weighs in at 6 million pounds, but when it is transporting the rocket boosters, external fuel tank and shuttle, the total weight is 18 million pounds, and it moves along at .9 miles per hour! The second stop on our tour of the KSC took us to the Apollo/Saturn V
center, a tribute to the Apollo missions that took us to the moon. Once again the scale blew our minds. You start out trying to comprehend the size of the stage one rocket booster and what seems like a half mile later you are looking at the capsule that actually held three astronauts on the way into the history books! Those of us who can remember those immortal words "The eagle has landed." are doubly impressed by the enormity of it all. The moon rover was fun to see, but no where near as impressive as the whole picture! The rest of the day was taken up with a tour of the shuttle Endeavor,
boy would I like to have the storage capacity of its cargo bay, and waiting in line to experience the simulated lift-off of a space shuttle. We also watched two amazing IMAX movies, one about the building of the space station and another about the Hubble Space telescope. The questions left unanswered by both are endless! I had to include a picture of moon boots, because who doesn't remember having a pair of goofy boots sometime in the last 20 years, well at least I had a pair (probably still do somewhere in our basement!) It just seemed appropriate, as we crossed the causeway leading away from KSC that we should see a dramatic sunset. A great way to end a great day.