The Space Oddity (Part 2) (when I say "lift off", what exactly are we referencing?)

In 1997 we took a 2nd trip down to NASA, this time to catch a launch.  This is always a risky endeavor due to the frequent mission scrubs, but combined with a 4 day cruise, it was too good of a chance to miss out on.  

Between the prior trip and this one, NASA had built an Apollo museum with a full sized Saturn V rocket as the main attraction.  

Rob at the far end for scale - apparently we never gave the camera to someone else to take our picture together.

Part of the tour included a drive by of the launch pad, which of course was amazing.  We also learned that armadillos are Florida's bunny.  They are all over the place.  We also noticed, while on the tour bus, that sadly, they aren't as fast as bunnies....  

 

Just as our last trip, this event took place at night.  We bought our tickets during the day and at about 1am headed over to the Cape.  They crammed us on buses and dropped us off someplace along the causeway about 6 miles from the pad.  It was damp and dewy.  We didn't plan ahead and had no chairs to sit in, nothing to drink.  We were obviously newbs compared to a lot of the others in this jam-packed area.  We kept waiting for them to throw packets of Tang or freeze dried meals at us, but unlike the Rocky Horror Picture Show, they took pity on us poor launch virgins.  

As time crawled and the countdown clock taunted us, I believe we started to question our decision.  We could be snug in our hotel beds, dry, warm... the glow of Bevis and/or Butthead flickering across our fast asleep faces.  But we persevered.  

And boy, was it all worth it.  

Excitement built as we got down to the 20 minute hold... then the 9 minute hold.  Finally, the countdown clock started for the final time.  The crowd rose and chanted 10...9...8...  At 6 the main engines ignited and the goosebumps on my arms blew a chill down my body.  At the moment of ZERO, two beautiful boosters erupted in the night, blinding us even from six miles away.  That marvel of human engineering leaped into the sky as the spectators went crazy.  Exactly 30 seconds later (yes, we both counted), a roar unlike anything we had ever heard swept over us, blowing our minds and making our hair stand on end (even me, that's how powerful it was...).  Of course everyone waited for that moment when the boosters dropped away, knowing the shuttle was past what we all considered the danger point.  And because it was night, we could see the whole thing for a very long time.  The whole ten minute experience was absolutely incredible, and there is no doubt it was totally worth it; something we'd remember for the rest of our lives.

Forcing our cold and stiff legs to move, we climbed back onto the buses with a few thousand of our new closest friends.  The bus windows were completely covered with condensation, and we drew little pictures of the launch on the glass.  

But it was time to get back to the hotel, sleep, and wake up so that we could head for our next adventure: four days on a Caribbean cruise!  

Darren being the nice guy he is and assisting a fair damsel with her stretching...

Yeah... that trip was ok...