Visit to KSC

This has been a whirlwind day.  The time is 6:30 PM and it’s the first chance I’ve had to sit down at my computer all day (almost unheard of).  I’ve been out to the hospital to visit my mom three times today delivering various items like a Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino Light, a contact lens fresh from the optometrist, magazines to stave off boredom and salads for lunch.  All of that was done around my usual routine of dropping kids off/picking kids up at school, Zumba and driving the kids to their activities.

I’m pretty sure that the doorbell is going to ring as soon as I bite into my dinner of microwaved pizza…  Hold that thought.

Yep, I was right.  My organic produce just arrived.

That’s the way my day has gone.  I have been shuffling from one thing to another all day and I am wiped out.

Not too wiped out to try to post something fun though.

Let’s talk about our trip to the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday!  Every September KSC opens its doors free to Brevard County residents.  They encourage everyone to donate a canned food item that will be donated to a local charity.  It’s a great thing- learning about giving as well as space.  Since J was out of town, I was happy to have something fun for me and the kids to do.  So, we grabbed our food donations and headed north bright and early on Saturday morning.

I was disappointed that more people weren’t donating food.  Come on!  Free entry into KSC is worth a canned food item at the very least, right?

We hopped on the tour bus first thing and were surprised to find ourselves first in line!  When we went two years ago we had to wait in line for well over an hour.  This time we breezed right onto the bus.  No waiting, no whining kids, no hassle.  It was great!

The first stop was the launch pad viewing platform.  The shuttle was not out there yet.  The next launch is in November so we weren’t lucky enough to see it like last time.

Our next stop was the Saturn V Museum.  I’m not sure if that is the official name of it or not but the building has a real Saturn V rocket in it.  It’s huge!

We got to see many fun things like a moon rock, a space capsule, the lunar rover, the Apollo mission control center, the 60s astronaut van and many other things.  The boys had a blast running around checking things out.  We had lunch there and even had cheesy tourist photos made where they Photoshop-ed the boys’ heads onto astronaut bodies.

When we arrived back at the visitor center we met astronaut, Wendy Lawrence!  She’s a pretty remarkable woman having flown on four shuttle missions.  I asked her to sign out tickets.  You can see that Wildman is more interested in trying to snatch things with the “space” grabber toy that he conned me into buying for them…

Cutie Pie was too short to ride the Shuttle Launch Experience where you get to live a shuttle launch complete with motion simulation, super awesome sound and sweet video.  Wildman was just tall enough to ride, however.  I found myself with quite a dilemma since Wildman really wanted to ride but Cutie Pie could not.  I was by myself so I had to stay with Cutie Pie.  The nice ride attendant informed me that Wildman could ride by himself and Cutie Pie and I could watch him on a video camera in the next room.  Wildman agreed to go it alone (what a big, independent man I have these days).

It was so cool!  Wildman grinned from ear-to-ear for the entire ride.  Cutie Pie and I got to experience everything but the motion simulation right along with him.  We were waiting for Wildman right outside the ride doors.  He came rushing out to us shouting “THAT WAS SO AWESOME!!!!”

I’m so glad he didn’t get J’s motion sickness and fear of thrill rides.  🙂

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Another Successful Shuttle Launch

Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on this afternoon at 2:28 PM.  It was a gorgeous day!  I delayed nap time so we could go to the beach to watch the launch.  There won’t be many more to enjoy so we need to catch them while we can.

Although we can see the shuttle from our house we went to the beach for the unobstructed view.  On a very clear day (not today, unfortunately), if you squint and lean, you can make out the launch pad at the Cape.  It’s pretty amazing to live this close to KSC.

So, around 2PM we headed over to the beach.  Cousin B came with us too.

The boys enjoyed running around on the beach, collecting shells and getting sandy from head to toe while we waited for lift off.   Wildman got so sandy and wet that I made him remove his jeans before getting back into my car.  He thought it was pretty awesome to ride home in his underwear.

Boys!

The launch went off without a hitch.  There were a bunch of people there to witness it including Wildman’s preschool friend.

Now that we’re back home, the boys are completely wiped out.  I’m looking forward to catching a little nap myself.

Kennedy Space Center

Saturday found us at the Kennedy Space Center.  This weekend KSC opened it’s doors free to all Brevard County residents.  We knew it would be a mad house but we decided to go anyway.  The boys had never been and saving over $150 is always a plus.  I can’t believe how much the Space Center has changed since I was a kid.  It’s more like a theme park today than the museum of my childhood.  There’s so much more to look at and do.

Cutie Looking Up in Awe of an Astronaut Suit

Cutie Looking Awestruck by Spacesuit

We took the bus tour out to several points of interest at the Cape.  Each stop was amazing.  They were mini-visitor complexes complete with movies, snacks, displays and gift shops.  When I was a kid they stopped on the side of the road, let you off the bus to take pictures and that was it.  The boys had a really good time seeing all of the sights even if they didn’t really know what they meant.

Launch Pad A with Space Shuttle Atlantis

Launch Pad A with Space Shuttle Atlantis

J and the boys in front of an Apollo space capsule.

J and the boys in front of an Apollo space capsule.

After the bus tours we headed back to the main Visitor Complex for lunch and ice cream.  We ended up running into our friends B and F and their kids.  They joined us over at the kid dome play area to let the kids blow off some steam and then went to the Rocket Garden with us.

Space Capsule in the Rocket Garden

Space Capsule in the Rocket Garden

We had a great time and the boys were completely exhausted by the time we left at 4 PM.  It’s something that I want to do again with them when they are a little older and can understand more about the space program.