So we took a road trip to see the Falcon Heavy on historic Launch Pad 39A. And spoiler alert: we saw it. This picture was taken by me putting my brand new binoculars on Meghan's tripod and carefully holding my i-phone up to the eye piece.
But let me go back before that. Long before that. When we were around 8 or so our parents brought us to Florida on vacation to see Disney, Sea World, and the Kennedy Space Center. We remember Disney and Sea World pretty well but all we remembered from Kennedy Space was that the trash cans were full and there were bees. I don't know if maybe we were too young, or not yet interested enough in the information presented, or if it was just the shock of Disney overpowered our experience. I mean the interest was there because a few years later my parents bough us our telescope and we liked science fiction like Star Trek, so the real thing should have made an impact. We remember when we were 12 or 13 talking with a good friend about possibilities of people going to Mars. So as I look back I'm not sure why the KSC did not result in more of a memory. But maybe it is good that it didn't because my lack of a memory fueled my desire to return. That and the historic Falcon Heavy sitting upright on the pad waiting for it's test fire and historic launch.
The test fire was scheduled for Monday in the afternoon. So we left Nashville after Meg got off work Sunday night and began the 12 hour drive. I was off a few hours earlier than her and tried to catch some sleep in the car which worked because we reached Cape Canaveral around noon. We would have been there in time to see the test fire but due to our politicians inability to function as adults the American Government had shut down which meant the test fire was on hold until they could get a long. So instead we just explored Cape Canaveral and Playalinda Beach.
In the days leading up to the road trip I checked online and asked people for recommendations of things to do and see near Cape Canaveral. One recommendation was to see the Astronaut Memorial in Titusville, which is also listed as one of the top spots to view a launch. So we headed over to 8 Broad Street in Titusville and saw the Memorial to the seven Gemini Pilots.
From the park we left to head to Playalinda Beach which took us through the Merritt Island Refuge. At the first pull off we stopped so that I could use my binoculars and look across the water at Canaveral while Meghan took some pictures of the wildlife. We ran into a gentleman there Lane Hermann of Space Head News, who is a local historian on the space program. As we talked he told us about a few points of interest in the Kennedy Space center to pay attention too. He also showed us some pieces he has collected over the years from various rockets. I have to say it was amazing to us to be holding a piece of a rocket. He also showed us his book on the Enterprise and the test shuttles Lane Hermann.
As we left and began down the road to the beach I passed a gigantic alligator at the side of the road so I pulled over as soon as possible so Meghan could bravely go back and photograph it. I didn't feel any strong need to go back near it so I stayed by the car to look at the Falcon Heavy which was visible just across the water and is when I took the above picture. Meg had great success with the alligator as well.
When she came back to the car she turned her attention to seeing what photos she could catch of the Falcon Heavy.
Meet the Falcon Heavy! There is a lot that is amazing about it but specifically to me the two most amazing parts are the fact that the Falcon 9 rockets which make it up will return and re-land themselves (two at Cape Canaveral and one on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean). And second the fact that private companies like SpaceX have taken interest in the space program means that NASA can focus on the next step of deep space exploration.
Now at this point it is Monday at maybe 2pm and we already have had a successful road trip. I mean we could have turned around and been totally satisfied with the trip! But that isn't the end Meg had a lot of success with wildlife photography and we had a lot more exploring to do.
Meg snapped a picture of this little fellow on Playalinda Beach.
And at one of the other pull overs she saw this beautiful bird enjoying the wonderful weather.
On the way out of the park we saw this armadillo hanging out in the grass. At this point I realized that the armadillo is really just a well armored rabbit and look how cute he is.
Now whenever planing a road trip I look for roadside attractions along the way and at out destination. Other than the obvious must sees listed at the Cape was a large boulder that had been painted to look like the earth, on one side. The other side was painted black and it is unclear whether it was left blank on purpose to represent night or if the painter just lost interest. Either way we headed over to see it ourselves.
After that quick stop we started to go to the hotel when a warning light came in on Meg's car to check the tire air pressure. Luckily we had seen a Tire King as we were driving around the Cape and we returned to it. The staff added some air to Meg's front left tire and we reached the hotel. After check in we left to find a bite to eat.
Another thing I like to do on road trips is find local craft breweries to try and maybe get a growler to take home. Online I had found Florida Beer Company Now they don't serve food there so we picked up sandwiches to bring with us, they also encourage people to have food ordered in and there are a number of local food spots ready to deliver.
And that ended day 1. We went back to the hotel completely exhausted and ready to sleep. We were getting up early the next day to go to The Kennedy Space Center.
As we drove to the Space Center in the morning Meghan's air pressure light came back on. The day before I wasn't worried because we had been on a long car ride but to have the light come back meant there had to be a problem. I'm going to be honest, as I parked at the Kennedy Space Center I was worried we may come out to find a completely flat tire. Not worried enough to lose time at the Space Center and get it fixed before we went in of course.
We got there early and parked in one of the first few spots. The parking lots are sectioned off and named for different Astronauts. We were parked in the lot named for Walter 'Wally' Schirra.
As we waited for the doors to open we looked at the countdown clock which now counts the last minute before the Center opens every day but in the early days of space travel it had counted down to the Gemini and Apollo launches. Being there early also gave us time to try and plan our day to get the most out of the day visit. Our plan was to see the Rocket Garden right as we entered so that Meg could get photos and play with her fisheye lens for her Cannon Rebel. After that would be boarding the bus at 10:00am to head to the Apollo/Saturn building. We would return to the Atlantis building and then try and get to the "Meet an Astronaut" where Norm Thagard would be speaking about his many experiences at 3pm. That was the plan at least.
Rocket garden was a success Meg's fisheye lens allowed her to get the full rockets in the shot and being there early minimized people being in the shots. Now at 9:30 was a 20 minute guided tour of the rocket garden and even though it might have meant a later bus we decided to take the tour. If there is one thing I can stress about the Space Center it is take the time to wait for the guided tours! It was worth it. When we got to the line for the bus it wasn't very long but we let people in front of us so that we could wait for the next bus to be the first one's on. This way we could get the front entrance side seat. It allowed us to see out the windshield instead of just the side tinted windows. As the bus went around the driver pointed out several points of interest like the giant platforms that rockets will sit on to be moved from VAB (Vehicle Assembly building) to launch pads. We also saw a manatee hanging out just after our bus driver finished saying she doubted we would see one.
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| Crawler |
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| VAB |
We got to relive the launch of Apollo 8. As different voices came over the recording different stations would light up.
Then we entered the main room and there was the gigantic Saturn V. We looked up at the Apollo badges hanging from the ceiling.
One thing that really resonated with me was the feeling of optimism and unity that surrounded the space program. The Apollo 11 badge was a great example of that with the bald eagle representing America rather than having the astronauts names listed. Also the words on the plaque that was placed on the moon "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."
We also learned a lot more about the Apollo 1 crew and tragedy. I had known of the accident but not much.
"If we die we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us, it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life."- Gus Grissom
To read Gus Grissom's words were chilling. There are a lot of qualities that the first Astronauts shared like courage, determination, and perseverance, The also had an amazing understanding of the history they were creating and their own part in it. There is a beautiful elegance in Neil Armstrong's first words on the moon. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Since we missed hearing Norm Thagard speak we went to the exhibit on Mars next and took a look at replicas of Curiosity and the other Mars rovers before heading over to the Astronaut Hall of Fame.
And that brought us to 6pm and the Space Center closing. We went outside and I was relieved to see that our tire was not flat. On the way we passed a wild pig just to complete the wild life bingo card. We went to a different Tire King and discovered that somewhere during our trip we had picked up a nail in the tire. Luckily it wasn't bad and the repair was quick. Now it was time to look for dinner and for some reason I really wanted a salad. Like a giant amazing salad. Meghan searched for restaurants with salad bar and found Sonn'y Barbecue.
Well! We went for the salad bar but we will go back for the barbecue. Don't get me wrong the salad bar was perfect and hit the spot and the barbecue was amazing! Also Meg tried another local brewery Playalinda's Tropical Wonderland. So after a delicious meal we headed to Playalinda's location to try some of their beers.
Then we went back to the hotel. In the lobby is an astronaut statue so we stopped to take photos with it. As I was taking Meg's photo I joked "Ok smile both of you." I got to say. It's a bad joke that would definitely make my Dad proud. A passing guest gave his approval of the joke too.
The next day we got up early because we had two more museums to go to before driving home to Nashville.
The first museum was the Air Force Space and Missile Museum. A small museum dedicated to the many other launch pads at Cape Canaveral. This museum was loaded with information. The volunteer on duty was Chuck Anderson and he shared lots of personal stories and great information. It is free admission with a donation box at the entrance and a gift shop. I'm so glad we took the time to stop here and look around. Each launch pad had a different display with many different interesting facts.
Then we went to the next museum American Space Museum. Another small museum which was jam packed with memorabilia and very much worth the trip. Our tour guide here was John and again he was wonderful and the tour was incredibly informative.
After that we had to leave the cape to head home but we had one more stop to make and that was in Kissimmee, Florida. In 1942 after the attack on Pearl Harbor when Dr. Charles Bressler-Pettis wanted a symbol of unity. He sent out letters to state governors to send him rocks. He was sent rocks from all the states from the governors and from individual citizens. The rocks were incased in concrete and stacked into a pyramid.
Another photo using the fisheye lens. In case you can't tell I love Meg's photos with that lens. It is fun to watch her take them too. She has to walk right up to the subject to take a photo and then to see a full photo result is awesome.
There were also several rocks from foreign countries.
Then we were heading home to Nashville. We had a good break and chance to stand when we stopped to visit family in Atlanta and leave behind some astronaut ice cream. We probably got home around 4am pretty tired but it was worth the trip. We spent 24 hours driving and 48 hours in Cape Canaveral. I think we made the most of our time and the best part is we are doing it all over again.
Shortly after we got home February 6th was announced as the launch date for Falcon Heavy. So after work on Sunday 4th while most people are watching the end of the Superbowl Meg and I will be hitting the road again to go back to FL and witness history!
And for no particular reason at all here is one of the best youtube videos in existence as Chris Hadfield covers David Bowie's "Space Oddity. " In honor of the future of space exploration:
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