STS-120 Shuttle Discovery Launch

We had to be at the Kennedy Space Center at 6am for the 11:38am launch. It was dark and the shuttle was lit up. It looked something like this. This picture is a painting in a NASA art gallery.


Kennedy Space Center entrance on launch day. The Discovery flag flies with the American flag.


We are 6 miles from the launchpad on a causeway across a bay on NASA property. You can see the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) in the background. The launchpad is off camera to the right. This place is the closest the public can get to a shuttle launch.


Shuttle Discovery clears the launchpad. We saw movement before we could hear it. The sound was much louder than at previous locations. It wasn't an earpiercing noise; it was a low rumble that shook you inside and out. Crackling sounds like a giant bonfire faded as the shuttle rose farther up into the sky.


Here's the launch sequence patched together. (Click on any of the photos in the blog for larger images.)


The cloud clears the launchpad. We could smell it. An announcement over the P.A. system said that we could be affected by hydrochloric acid fumes from the launch. If we felt like we had sore throats a drink of water would clear it up. I felt a minor irritation and a few sips of Pepsi washed it away.


The roll.


This is another painting from the NASA art gallery. If I were to make a composite of my experience watching the launch it would look something like this. There were people with cameras everywhere. The orange flame from the shuttle cut through clouds set against a blue sky.

Walking on the Beach

We saw this scene on the way to Fort DeSoto Park. There were people parasurfing on the north side of Sunshine Skyway bridge.


The Gulf water is cooling off, so we went for a walk instead of swimming at the beach. I don't know if this pink plant is seaweed or coral. The color is so vivid.

There were less people and a lot more birds. I've never seen so many different kinds of birds hanging around together. They weren't bothered by people walking along the surf. It was as if we were just bigger birds with cameras.

These little cranes are funny. They have yellow feet that makes it look like they're wearing galoshes.

We walked to the point at the North Beach to where you can almost walk over to another island. I've seen people walk over. The water may be shallow enough to do that, but I don't trust the currents. The sand was packed down and had contrasting wavy patterns in it.

Pelicans and clouds backlit by the sunset.

Dolphins Playing Chicken

I saw dolphins at the beach on Anna Maria Island today. I thought I heard dolphin chatter a few minutes before I saw them. Suddenly there were 2 dolphins jumping in the air facing each other. They must have been playing chicken swimming directly towards each other under water.

Fort DeSoto Park, North Beach

We went to the beach late in the afternoon and stayed until sunset. It was a gorgeous mix of light and color. Beams of light burst through the clouds like spotlights.


Colors danced around on blue waves.


The tide was out and we found all sorts of shells. Alfonze snorkeled around and found several live molusks. There were 2 large whelks, and several olive shells. I was floating around finding live sand dollars and shells. It was a lovely afternoon.

Funny Florida Birds

There are some funny birds poking around the yard today. They are young white ibis. We saw a lot of the white adult birds poking around the yard this spring.


It was hard to get a picture of them to show their curved beaks, because they were so busy finding munchies. Go get those grubs!


Here's a profile shot. They were getting a good look at me and my camera.

Beach Wednesday - Riding Waves

Our move from Michigan to Florida took 4-5 years to accomplish. When things got difficult we'd come up with ideas of fun things we'd be able to do in Florida once we got there. One of those things is "Beach Wednesday." We dreamt of taking the day off work to go to the beach in the middle of the week. Whenever I was tired of cleaning up the house for showings I'd tell myself that I was getting closer to Beach Wednesday.

It took a few months of really hard work once in Florida before we were able to take a mid week break. Today is Wednesday and we went to the beach! We had fun riding the waves on boogie boards out on Anna Maria Island.

Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour - STS118

We set out to view the launch of Shuttle Endeavour from the Astronaut Hall of Fame. This is a little further away from the launch site than the previous area we went to at Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Center to view the launch of STS-117 in June. We weren't able to leave work until afternoon. There was a lot more traffic and by the time we got to the Astronaut Hall of Fame the front gate was closed off.


This is the lawn at the Astronaut Hall of Fame where people were camped to view the shuttle launch.


Space shuttle in front of the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

We managed to inch our way through traffic to turn around and head south on Route 1, where we happened to find the entrance to the parking area on the other side of the Astronaut Hall of Fame. After scouting out areas to view the launch we went inside one of the air conditioned museum buildings to escape the heat. There we saw artifacts from the first space missions in the 1960's. Those space capsules the men were in were so small! The outsides of the capsules looked like they had been scorched in a furnace.


About ten minutes before launch we went back outside. We watched and listened to NASA TV on a big screen. This wasn't a rehearsed presentation; it was live audio from the control room with video from both inside and outside the shuttle launch area. I thought about when I was a kid watching the moon landings on tv, and how exciting it is that we're finally going to go back to the moon. The shuttle missions from now until 2010 will be focused on completing the International Space Station. By 2010 the current shuttles will be retired and a new program will begin to send people back to the moon to set up a base.

There was much anticipation in the air as a countdown from 5 began, and the crowd hushed to join in the counting. "5...4..3..2..1...marks of the end of the 9 minute hold. Nine minutes to go before launch." The crowd moaned in disappointment, then we all laughed. Nine minutes later the launch countdown started from 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1...and yeah!


The shuttle appeared from behind a telephone pole in my field of view. Even though we were a few miles further away than the launch of STS-117, the shuttle and the flame behind it actually looked larger. The photos don't do it justice. It was so thrilling to hear the crackle and roar of the lift-off.


The crowd leaving the Astronaut Hall of Fame right after the launch.

Moving Again

Grandma Apple moved to Nashville today. She sold her house relatively quickly. There are more boxes in our house again. The Nashville Gang left this afternoon. We headed out to the Sunset Grill for dinner. It made us think of Grandma Apple, because we used to go there with her.

4th of July in Tennessee

Aunt Carolyn led us for a hike in the mountains near Crossville, TN.
Here we are at "Daddy's Creek Overlook."


A rocky cliff at the overlook.


We hiked down a trail to the Obed River.



The kids liked playing on the rocks and splashing around in the water.




The water was crystal clear and cool.


We got back on the road on I-40 towards Nashville.


I got to light a real live cannon that my nephew made. Boom!

Heading North on the Dixie Highway

We headed north on I-75 to visit family in Tennessee this week.

An Old Dixie Highway sign in Atlanta.


Smooth sailing through traffic in Atlanta.


Crossing the Georgia/Tennessee border in Chattanooga.


Driving through the mountains along 68 on the way to Crossville, TN.

Another Tree Frog

I found another tree frog in the bathroom this morning. I lifted up the toilet lid and found it stuck to the inside of the lid. This time I screamed, because it startled me so much. By the time Alfonze can running to see what was the matter I was laughing. He looked in the toilet and said, "Yep, he jumped in this time." We shut the bathroom door for a little while until it came out and used the same technique of throwing a kitchen towel over it to catch and release it outside. I think the frog followed me in when I brought groceries in yesterday. They are fast and sneaky. The weather has been very hot, and there's probably not much water for the frogs to find outdoors. That makes the bathroom seem like a Club Med for frogs. I'll have to be more careful about keeping the screen door shut when I unload the car.

STS-117 Space Shuttle Launch

We went to the Kennedy Space Center on Friday to see a space shuttle launch. It's one of those things we've always wanted to do.

This is the business end of the Saturn V rocket that took the Apollo missions to the moon. If you look very closely you can see Alfonze in the sea of people.


This is Stage 3 of the Apollo rocket. A little girl in the crowd kept saying "Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!" That's exactly how it is when you're standing under the Apollo rocket.


We could see the shuttle launch pads from the area where the Apollo exhibit is. I didn't see the shuttle when I took the picture. The sky was overcast and hazy. Once I got home and looked at it on the computer monitor I found it. It's another "Where's Waldo?" moment, like finding the cheetah in the zoo photo. (You can click on the images to see larger versions.)

The bus tour had 3 stops and lasted a good part of the afternoon. When we took the bus back to the Visitor Center the place was packed. We stood in line for an hour to buy hot dogs. After wolfing down the hot dogs we got our hands stamped and went back to the car to our cooler with bottled water. We sat in the car with the doors open and a nice breeze came through. Next time we'll bring some food, too. Then we packed up our things to get ready to wait for the launch. We had folding camping chairs, camera bags, etc. When we returned to the entrance the crowd had dissipated, except for one person hanging around the ticket windows. It was Gene Kranz! He was a Flight Director during the Mercury and Apollo missions. Gene Kranz and his team earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom for helping bring the Apollo 13 crew safely home. He talked to us while I fumbled with the cameras to get a photo. Gene is from Toledo, Ohio and he knows where Erie, Michigan is. The folks back in Toledo are never going to believe this! If we hadn't have waited an hour for hot dogs we wouldn't have been there to meet Gene Kranz.

Here's what we saw as space shuttle Atlantis was launched.

The first thing we saw was a brilliant amber light as bright as the sun shining through the trees. A lady behind me screamed "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" The shuttle was moving so fast that we didn't hear any sound until it cleared the tree tops. There was a crackling sound, like a 4th of July sparkler, that proceeded to get louder. Then we heard a low, thundering boom that shook everything. Not only did we hear it, but we could feel it. The crackling sound faded as the shuttle climbed higher into the sky.

Then the shuttle rolled and dropped the booster rockets. We saw 3 pinpoints of light from the shuttle and the 2 booster rockets. All of this happened in less than 2 minutes. The shuttle was gone as suddenly as it appeared. It was a breathtaking event.

This is how the rocket trail cloud looked at about 9pm.

Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa

The Lowry Park Zoo is a like a large, beautifully landscaped garden. This pond and parrot shelter is near the entrance.


Here are some birds in the Asian Garden.


A manatee in the aquarium.


What's a trip to Florida without seeing some flamingos?


We couldn't find the cheetah in this habitat. I took the picture to get a shot of the white bird with the curved beak. These birds are all over our neighborhood. They poke holes in the lawn looking for munchies. After we got home and looked at the photos on the computer screen we found the cheetah! It's napping in the concrete tube. (You can click on the pictures to see larger versions.) The zoo can be a lot like a "Where's Waldo?" cartoon.

Riding the Waves

We had fun riding the waves at the beach. The nieces had a blast. You can even see Grandma Apple walking through the surf.


Here we are at our beach camp. We bought another beach umbrella since the last sunburn incident. Ironically, it matches the beach bag I got for my birthday over a week later.