Launching phase three of our latest travels finds it has been a busy first week back out on the road again. What a surprise to see Madeline Albright, former Secretary of State to President Bill Clinton, on board our connecting flight from Washington, D.C. into Jacksonville, Florida. At 77 years old she is still active and going as strong as ever. My goodness wouldn’t it have been great to have had a good conversation with her. Upon arrival, after spending a few days at Cousin Joan and Gene’s, JR had the motor home systems back up running and the refrig was restocked. Giving thanks for the gracious hospitality, we bid the kinfolks farewell and headed south to the Space Coast for three days.
At Kennedy Space Center, NASA was Celebrating 50 years of Americans in Orbit. We hopped on a VIP bus tour taking us into a restricted area of Cape Canaveral to see the Vehicle Assembly Building where shuttle orbiters, rocket boosters, and fuel tanks are brought together.
An overview of the famous KSC Launch Pads 39A and 39B along with numerous other launch pads was quiet impressive. Buckling up for a ride in the new Shuttle Experience Simulator became a must do back at the KSC.
There is nothing quiet like the sensation of being on board in a command module during lift off into space with the loud noise of rocket fuel burning, intense vibrations, G-force pull like three gorillas sitting on one’s chest, and traveling at speeds of 17,000 mph. KSC had a variety of exhibits such as Robotic Encounters, The Astronaut Hall of Fame, and IMAX films of the Hubbell Telescope and International Space Station activities.
Seated in bleachers at the Rocket Garden Complex outdoors on a clear evening watching the Arrival of the Astronauts and Space Coast Corvette Club Procession, hearing NASA astronauts and keynote speakers John Glenn and Scott Carpenter all talk was an awesome thrill.
Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge is protected acreage of open land out on Cape Canaveral. In the Jeep we covered ten miles on the Black Point Drive there. We’ve managed to discover some great reasons for exploring Florida in just a short time already.
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| Gatorland |
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| One big gator coming over the bank |
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| Roseate Spoonbill |
Egrets galore
Launching phase three of our latest travels finds it has been a busy first week back out on the road again. What a surprise to see Madeline Albright, former Secretary of State to President Bill Clinton, on board our connecting flight from Washington, D.C. into Jacksonville, Florida. At 77 years old she is still active and going as strong as ever. My goodness wouldn’t it have been great to have had a good conversation with her. Upon arrival, after spending a few days at Cousin Joan and Gene’s, JR had the motor home systems back up running and the refrig was restocked. Giving thanks for the gracious hospitality, we bid the kinfolks farewell and headed south to the Space Coast for three days. 
At Kennedy Space Center, NASA was Celebrating 50 years of Americans in Orbit. We hopped on a VIP bus tour taking us into a restricted area of Cape Canaveral to see the Vehicle Assembly Building where shuttle orbiters, rocket boosters, and fuel tanks are brought together.
An overview of the famous KSC Launch Pads 39A and 39B along with numerous other launch pads was quiet impressive. Buckling up for a ride in the new Shuttle Experience Simulator became a must do back at the KSC. 
There is nothing quiet like the sensation of being on board in a command module during lift off into space with the loud noise of rocket fuel burning, intense vibrations, G-force pull like three gorillas sitting on one’s chest, and traveling at speeds of 17,000 mph. KSC had a variety of exhibits such as Robotic Encounters, The Astronaut Hall of Fame, and IMAX films of the Hubbell Telescope and International Space Station activities.
