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.

The Bangles

We went to Busch Gardens in Tampa to see The Bangles in concert last night.

Sunburned

We went to Fort DeSoto Beach yesterday and stayed in the sun too long. Today I'm sunburned and really tired. It's a beautiful beach with white sand and clear water. Going to the beach out there is a sort of like going camping. You need to bring along food, water and shelter from the sun. Next time we'll bring a beach umbrella to get out of the sun once in a while.

Chameleon on the Lanai

This morning we found a chameleon on the lanai. I shut the screen sliding door while Alfonze chased him around. The little lizard finally got so worn out that Alfonze was able to pick it up and put it outside. I don't mind the frogs and lizards, because they eat bugs. I was used to leaving the slider door open, but I think I'll keep the screen door shut now.

Tree Frog in the House

When I got up this morning there was a tree frog sitting on the toilet seat. It startled me, but not enough to surprise the frog. The last thing I wanted to happen was for the frog to jump in the toilet to try to hide! The frog jumped on the floor and Alfonze threw a small hand towel over him to try to catch him. Just when he thought he had the frog cornered, the frog ran up the wall. We finally caught the frog and let him go in the backyard.

I didn't even want to think about where the frog came from. It's material for urban legends. Could alligators and snakes get in through the toilet, too?

Grandma Apple says that they follow you in when you open the door. That made more sense than reptiles in the sewers. Tree frogs and chameleons like to hang out in nooks and crannies around the door frame at the front door. That's probably where the frog followed us in.

Beach Hopping

We went to Fort DeSoto's North Beach yesterday. The water is really clear, which makes it a great place to go snorkeling. It's one of our favorite beaches. In the past you had to wade through a little bay that had lots of stingrays. You had to be careful and shuffle your feet to avoid getting stung. I never got stung, or witnessed anybody getting hurt, and the beach on the other side was so great that it was worth the crossing. They filled that little bay partly in by sand, so we didn't have to wade through the stingrays! Yippee!

Fort DeSoto Park:
http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_Ft_DeSoto.htm

The sand is white and the water is so clear. There was a soft, cool breeze that made us not want to leave. It was refreshing after a week of muggy weather and smokey air.

We got a lot of smoke from the forest fires that were at the Georgia/Florida border this week. Here's an amazing satellite photo. The fires where hundreds of miles away.

Weather.com Blog
http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/8_12513.html?from=wxcenter_news

Today we went to a place in Ruskin called Simmons Park. It is on Tampa Bay. We went there after taking Grandma Apple out to lunch for Mother's Day. We didn't intend to go in the water, but just to check it out. What a difference the bay water is compared to the Gulf water. The beach had more rocks and the water had a lot of debris in it. The debris was mostly chopped up leaves and twigs. Alfonze said that it looked and smelled just as he remembered it 20 years ago. Yet there were still a lot of people having fun, despite the dark water.

As we were leaving Simmons Park we noticed huge birds nests on top of telephone poles. They were built on top of wooden pallets that were attached to the tops of the telephone poles. If you've ever seen those kinds of pallets up close, you know those nests have to be big. I don't know what kind of bird was up there. Here's a photo of a bird peaking out of its nest.

Sunset Grill at Bahia Beach

We went to the Sunset Grill at Bahia Beach for dinner. The sunset over the water was beautiful.



We lingered on the beach for a while listening to the waves break. The music from the restaurant seemed far away. There was a soft breeze that took the edge off a hot day. The best part is that I don't have to go back to Detroit. I live here now.

Shop 'til You Drop

We've been shopping for furniture this weekend. Got a cheap desk to get the office out of boxes. We went to Target to get some household items and I started feeling dizzy. It was almost 4pm and I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I really need to schedule time for meals. How could I forget to eat?

Busted Ink Cartridge

The black ink cartridge in one of our printers busted and leaked during the move. We were up until shortly after midnight cleaning up the mess.

Note to self: Don't move ink jet printers with ink cartridges inside!

Hurry Up

I got my new drivers license today. There are so many details to take care of after move in. Insurance, drivers license, car registration, bank accounts, utilities, taxes are due Monday, etc. Everywhere I go I'm in a hurry.

Easter at the Beach

We drove to Clearwater Beach this morning. There was hardly any traffic. It was great! The weather was a little cool, but sunny. We had lunch at the Palm Pavillion. Nobody was in the water. The people on the beach were enjoying the sun.

The above picture is from along the causeway leaving Clearwater. There were people on the small beaches along the causeway soaking up sun or fishing. This palm tree lined section is my favorite part of the road.

Sleepy

The adrenaline rush from moving is starting to wear off. As I start to relax I feel soooo sleepy.

Move In Day

The truck arrived promptly this morning. It's move in day in Florida.

Our stuff was packed from floor to ceiling like a giant 3D puzzle.

It's only winter until you get to Kentucky

The weather was 45° F and windy when we left Michigan yesterday. By the time we got to Cincinnati it was 77° F. So, there you have it. It's only winter until you get to Kentucky.

Cincinnati is the first big challenge driving south. The traffic can be terrible and there are a lot of lane changes as you try to stay on I-75 and not end up somewhere in downtown Cincinnati. Traffic was light and we cruised right through.

The next one was Atlanta. We sailed through Atlanta last night around 11:30pm. There was a lot of traffic, but it moved along. The lights of Atlanta are pretty at night.

Today I'm in shorts. The weather is sunny and in the 80's as we approach the Florida border. I've never seen so many billboards along a highway. The Florida vacation billboards start more than 100 miles from the border.

The trip south on the Dixie Highway

We'll be taking I-75 all the way from Michigan to our new hometown in Florida. We left a little late today, but traffic was light and we were able to make good time. We're almost to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Makes me think of Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam doing a "Gone with the Wind" type episode. Bugs Bunny says "General Suh, the Yankees are in Chattanooga!" Sam says "What!!! The Yankees are in Chattanoogee?!!!"

Moving Day

It's moving day in Erie, Michigan. I just got home from picking up breakfast at Tim Horton's. The moving truck is in front of the house and they had already started bringing things out of the basement and stacking them up in the driveway. I didn't recognize the workbenches standing up on end and thought they were some kind of crazy crates at first.

The moving truck crew is a jolly group. They're joking around and having pushcart races in the driveway. I can't believe all the stuff that's coming out of the basement. Where am I going to put all this stuff once we're in Florida where I won't have a basement?

We were up last night until 1:30am packing. I'm running on pure adrenaline and coffee.

Spring Flowers

My garden in Michigan is just starting to wake up. This is the first spring that the rock garden daffodils and irises actually bloomed together. There are also a few crosuses here and there. It is the last time I'll see them.

Damascus House

We're packing night and day. As I'm emptying cupboards and closets I keep finding more stuff that I don't really need to move with us. I've been accumulating household items and clothes all week. Today I took a car load to donate to Damascus House in Monroe, Michigan.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

More Donations

I took another load of household items and collectibles to the "Discovery Shop" yesterday. Today I took non-perishable food items to St. Martin de Poers in Toledo, OH. They have a program called "Food Pantry."

Sold a Bunch of Stuff

I started getting responses to the ads on Craigslist.org and AutoTrader.com already! Last night we sold the truck. We'll go to the SOS to do the transaction on Monday. The ad had been on AutoTrader.com for only a few hours.

Today we sold 3 out of 4 items that were listed on Craigslist.org since yesterday!

American Cancer Society

This morning I finally got some of our furniture and equipment listed on Craigslist.org. I'm a little behind schedule with selling this off and donating household items. I wanted to make sure I got those things listed before this weekend's web surfers started browsing Craigslist. Then I listed the truck at AutoTrader.com. We had some response about the truck from the Craigslist ad last week, but it hasn't sold yet. The truck is the biggest ticket item I have to sell before moving.

After lunch I started putting together items to donate to the American Cancer Society's "Discovery Shop" in Sylvania, Ohio. I already had a lot of items collected that I forgot to take on Thursday. I was amazed at how long it actually took to physically get the stuff piled up, boxed up, and loaded into the truck. It took all afternoon. I got to the "Discovery Shop" 1/2 hour before closing.

When I got home I found some plates in the kitchen I was going to donate. Whoops! Looks like I'll be getting another load together. Maybe I can find a charity closer to home. It takes about 1/2 hour to drive to Sylvania.

Alfonse started packing his workshop. He said that he worked on it all day and it didn't even look like he put a dent in it.

Sorting & Purging

The whole house looks like this. We're sorting and purging this week. That means we're sorting our stuff room by room and deciding what comes along and what doesn't. This weekend we start packing.

I don't clean all my dishes, pots, and pans anymore. Sometimes they just go in the garbage dirty. Ha!

Empty this house!

It was a busy day. I really want to start emptying the house of things we're not moving. I had collected items to donate to the American Cancer Society's "Discovery Shop" in Sylvania, Ohio. The stuff was ready to go. After making a delivery in Monroe for work, I had a quick lunch, loaded the truck and hit the road. When I got back I found some clothes still hanging in the closet that were supposed to go.

We had a father and son come over to see the truck this week. They found my ad at Craigslist.org. That's a free online classified service. They have web sites for different regions and cities. I'm bummed that I've been too busy to list the other stuff we want to sell. I was hoping to list it all last weekend and sell it off this week.

A Shack by the Sea

A 4 day visit to Grandma Apple's place in Florida turned into 6 days. We had the trip scheduled back in December. It just happens that we sold the house in Michigan the week before. We had to find a house this trip to be able to close on the transaction in Michigan in March. Otherwise, it would get pushed to the end of April. We really didn't want to make the buyers wait that long, because we didn't want the deal to cool off and not happen at all.

After looking at houses Friday and Saturday we found one near the Gulf that we were ready to write an offer on. I was so excited, because it was about 10 minutes from the coast. After we got an insurance quote for about $6,000/year we had to let it go. It was a disappointment, but $6000 could buy a lot of hotel rooms on the beach. On Monday we started looking further inland. I was feeling really discouraged. After seeing a few houses that weren't cutting it we went back to the realtor's office and changed the search parameters again. It seemed that what we needed to have in a house was going to be hard to find in Florida. The house up north has a workshop in the basement for the electronics business. Our garage houses some equipment for the business and a classic car. In Florida the homes don't have basements and don't always have garages. By the time we got back on the road it was mid afternoon. We had been through so many houses that they seemed to blur together. We told the realtor that if we didn't find anything by the end of the day that we'd have to book another trip to Florida next month.

We finally found a house late Monday afternoon. The house is beautiful inside and is move-in ready. No harvest gold colored 1970's tile in the bathroom to rip out, or avocado green kitchen cabinets to replace. Yeah!! There's a big shed out back with electric that is perfect for the workshop. The garage is big enough for the equipment and the hot rod.

By the time all was said and done we had seen almost 30 houses in 3 days. It was grueling, but it finally worked out. We're real happy with the new place. Now we have to get back up north and start packing.

Ride of the Valkyries

There's a radio station in my head. This morning when I woke up I heard "Ride of the Valkyries" in my head. My heart was pumping wildly. I put my hands over my ears and tried to think of some other melody.

Then my thoughts wandered off to the next task of the day. We need to sell the truck but can't find the title. If we get to the Secretary of State office early there won't be a long wait.

Sometimes I sing or think of songs when I'm trying to get motivated to get out of bed in the morning. Usually it's disco tunes like "Get Up and Boogie" or some other happy dance tune. As I got into the shower hounded by Valkyries shrieking in my head I started singing "Get Down Tonight" by KC and the Sunshine Band to chase them away. "...'cause that's the way uh-huh uh-huh I like it, uh-huh uh-huh..."

Then I looked online and found that the Secretary of State office doesn't open 'til 11am today. I'll shut up now and let Alfonse sleep in a little.

Sold! ...Riding Lawnmower

This is very unusual considering we have about 12" of snow on the ground. Most people have their snowmobiles out for sale right now. We had the opportunity to get rid of it, so we did. Of course, the guy had to buy our house, too. Yippee!

Next weekend we're going to look at houses in Florida. I'm so excited! I've got butterflies in my stomach, because we have to vacate our house in Michigan by the end of March.

Snowed In

We cancelled the Open House for this weekend, because of the big snow. My driveway isn't too user friendly. I think we got 8-12" of snow this week. Alfonze dug 2 tracks for the truck tires. We'll clear more later if we need to. I can't tell were the pond is, except for a few plants sticking out of the snow.

Showing No. 2

We had our second showing today since putting the house back on the market on February 1st. I was trying to remain cool, but felt spazzy inside. I couldn't figure out where to put a box that was in the way and starting crying. I wish the constant clean up and showing the house was over, but this is just beginning of the next round of showings.

Happy Valentines Day!

Cleaning Up Clutter & Getting Organized

We had a showing yesterday. I'm in "show me the money" mode. The house has been on the market on and off for about a year. Showing the house has been going on for so long that I can't get excited unless there's an offer.

The clean up process before showings isn't just about mopping the floor and dusting for cobwebs. It's also about decluttering the house and getting rid of stuff. We've been on a mission to do this for the past 3 years. I'm always amazed how the clutter re-accumulates.

I like this web site for de-cluttering and house cleaning without driving myself nuts or becoming too anal. The motto is "take baby steps."

FlyLady.net

I like author Julie Morgenstein. I recently read her book "Time Management from the Inside Out." It has helped me not be such a spaz about seemingly endless To Do lists. Now I'm reading her book about physically organizing space "Organizing from the Inside Out."

My latest de-clutter project was organizing our office supplies. We had a lot of stuff from the old shop in Monroe that was stuffed under workbenches, on bookshelves, and scattered boxes. There were about 5 or 6 jars (Mason, mayo, mustard, etc.) stuffed full of pens, pencils and highlighters. These were used on the workbenches at the old shop. I've never seen so many 3" pencil remnants. 2 weeks ago I took all this stuff and put it in sorted piles (for writing, printing, filing, mailing, etc.) on my living room floor. I cleared the shelves in my office, which was also a hodgepodge of stuff, to accomodate only office supplies. I brought the supplies back into the office as I used them. The stuff left over in the living room was to be either put into storage or gotten rid of. When we got the call on Thursday to schedule a showing for Saturday 11am there was still stuff all over the floor. It's gone now. It feels so good to have lightened that load! I think I'm learning skills that will be useful down the road, too.

It's nice to be able to open a closet without having stuff fall out. :-)

It hurts to breathe.

I go out into the deep freeze anyway, because I have things to get done. It hurt to breathe yesterday, so I held my fuzzy hood shut over my nose & mouth. I think we are in for a heat wave. We're out of single digits and headed for 20's in a few days. Never thought I'd be happy to see 18 degrees!

I was looking for more sweaters today and realized that I already gave a lot of them away. Didn't think I'd need them much after we moved south.

Long Underwear

It's cold enough for long underwear. The temps are in the single digits and wind chill is below zero. It's so dry that my hands feel like paper.

Toledo Museum of Art

We went to the Toledo Museum of Art today. It is good relief from cabin fever in the winter. I always find something new to be amazed with every time I go. It is easy to get lost in the galleries.

We saw the Glass Pavilion for the first time. It is across Monroe Street. There is an umbrella stand in each building where you can borrow an umbrella to go outside to cross the street. I was a little surprised that they chose to display their glass in this way, because direct sunlight can be bad for glass. They had gray curtains to compensate. Some of the interior rooms were darker. There was a gallery where they had their collection that was not yet set up to exhibit. The pieces weren't all labeled, but it was interesting just the same.

Where Do You Put House Guests When You Have No Furniture?

Grandma Apple and Carolyn drove up the Dixie Highway from Nashville to pay a visit this weekend. They went to a wedding in Ohio yesterday. It's kind of funny hosting house guests when you don't have much furniture. We had fun anyway. They slept on a blow-up mattress and on the couch. We watched a Beach Boys video called the Lost Concert. Carolyn sang along to the songs and even knew the words to songs that we couldn't understand.

Lots of Changes as the New Year Approaches

I've been very busy at the job. We're in the process of closing the Michigan business and opening the Florida business. Everything's the same as far as the customers are concerned. There's a heap of paperwork on my desk. I don't think it's gonna get done today. I have to be careful to keep the MI and the FL stuff separate so things don't get misfiled. I'm looking forward to getting together with friends this weekend.

New Cell Phone

I got a new cell phone today. Despite signing up for a flat rate for the land lines there are still a bunch of extra access fees and taxes. Do I really need 2 land lines anymore? I don't think so. I'm shutting down one of the land lines and replacing it with the new cell phone.

The cell phone can go with me as I travel. I can change the number to a Florida number after we move.

I took the free phone that came with a nationwide plan, although I really wanted something that could play mp3's for jogging. It's a huge upgrade from the old cell phone that we use mostly as a car phone. I'm having fun pushing all the buttons and playing with the features. Alfonze is getting sick of me playing with the ring tones.

Somebody's Sick for Christmas

It's going to be a quiet Christmas. Mom had surgery on her sinuses 4 days ago. She thought she'd be well enough to host a Christmas dinner, but she is really sick. I brought her some home made chicken soup this afternoon.