fbhjr

This morning we set off early for the coast. Not Saint Augustine early, but still pretty early.

I have to wonder what this road is like in a storm.

We got where we were going soon after it opened.

Pricing, tours, and how to see the good stuff is not really that clear. So, we waited in line for a long time while the ticket man explained to several groups for whom English was not the first language, what to do.
This was frustrating. The only good part was even outside the gate you can see cool things.

We did get in. But, we missed the first several tours, and were going to be on the 1PM one. So, we had plenty of time to look around.

I know the Apollo missions get the good press. After all, they did go to the moon.
But, I’ve always been very fond of the Gemini program that developed and proved out much of the technology needed.
So, it was very nice to see a Gemini capsule on its Titan launcher.

(You know the fact they used a Titan launcher, like Gemini, in Star Trek for the Phoenix launch only makes me like it more, right?)

They also had a Gemini capsule you could sit in to imagine spending 14 days in one.

Some of those rockets are pretty big.

And, some of them I can tell who designed them just by looking at the tail fins.

The rocket garden alone was very cool.

They also had a mockup of the new Orion capsule. Sadly, no look inside.

My wife wanted to see what I’d look like as an astronaut.

We went to a show on robotic explorers. It was clearly for kids. But, funny in several ways I’m not sure were intended. The robot narrator complains that it can’t be out exploring because it was damaged in training. I wonder if they put that in the script to explain if the show doesn’t work right? It already claims to be damaged, right?

We went to the simulated shuttle launch ride. It is VERY similar to the Star Wars ride I went on Monday.
Here they make you drop everything you’re carrying, in your pockets of wearing that could come off in a locker.
The lockers are $0.25, and you get it back at the end.
All I had was 2 $20 bills.
So, I went to the gift shop and asked for change.
They loaned me the quarter, which was very nice of them.

The ride was OK, but I liked going to Hoth better.

They also had a live Star Trek show. (No photos. Sad.)

A guy in “Enterprise” uniform is welcoming you to Starfleet Academy when the Narada shows up. The good news is a Vulcan from the 29th century time ship USS Wells shows up to help.
Sadly, her ship is infested with tribbles. Tribbles shoot out and the kids in the audience need to collect them.

Tribbles are launched by air cannons into the crowd in two bursts of half a dozen each.
I had never even considered a tribble cannon before today.
Think of the possibilities against the Klingons!

This show was also clearly for kids, but still fun in a campy way.
The woman who played the Vulcan did a great job with the kids she brought up on stage.
She walked out to bring one up and pointed at a kid.
“You, come up on stage!” she said.
“You’re too slow, you over there come up instead,” she said when the first kid hesitated.
Then when the kid needed to push a button.
“Push the button. Push the green button now. I will push the button.”

I’m not really sure what it has to do with the space center, but it was fun to watch.

Finally, it was time for our tour.

The tour is 3 hours long. I’m not sure why.
The first stop is at some bleachers near the water so you can see where you are going to be going.

But, they could have cut at least 1/2 hour off of the time by skipping that and I would have been fine with it.
The only good news is there was a wild dolphin frolicking under the bridge next to us.

It is hard to see, but it is in the water near the center.

The tour did move on.

The next stop was the one I wanted. The Vehicle Assembly Building.

It is really big inside.

The cranes used to lift the shuttle into place are quite impressive.

In order to qualify to use them, you had to be able to lower this weight onto an egg and not break it.

I guess only 6 people ever managed it.

The Endeavor was also parked there. The real Endeavor. The one that had been built to replace the Challenger. That had been in orbit many times.
Very cool.

When we left, we went by mission control without a stop. Sad. I know they still use it, so it is probably off limits to everyone. But, I thought it could have at least rated a call out in the tour.

The tour did talk about the driveway from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pads.

And, the launch pads themselves.
This is where everyone who ever stepped on the moon lifted off.

Even the alligators are impressed.

I will point out that we did see wild alligators. This is something that has often eluded us in the past.
We also saw wild pigs. Sadly I was not fast enough to get them on camera, and only got the tour guide confirming what they were.

Then, they brought us to the beach.

Of course, the beach itself, and the port-o-john there are off limits, so not much you can do but look.

It is still a very nice view back where we had been.

I am sad I never got to see a manned launch. But, seeing the place it happened is still very cool.

Of course, I look down as well as up.

This tortoise seemed in a big rush to get somewhere.

Then he just disappeared!

We realized there was a hole there. Lots of holes marked with little red flags.

They were turtle nests. I couldn’t see much in them, but the turtles seemed to like them.

As we drove back we saw the shuttle mockup that is going to Huston.

Huston is quite upset that New York City is getting a real shuttle and they are getting the fake one. I’m with Huston on that one. Mission Control is in Huston, not NYC.

The tour ended at the building where the Saturn V rocket is kept.