You think its hard getting in between them... try getting a word in edge-wise!
For every good picture, there's, well...
...a better picture...
...seriously?
The church all set-up for the big day, minus the people.
Even the roses were perspiring.
The classic pose. Who needs body guards when these two can surround you on three sides.
The Mills family adds one.
In case they forgot, since it was 5 months ago.
From sun sets over the Pacific to sunrises over the Atlantic.
Looks like a fire bombing taking place, but it was just the reflection of...
...the rising sun...
...as it got higher...
...and higher, even moving left...
...maybe that was the cameraman.
This would be a great time to fish...
...just watching the sun blazing fiercely through...
...and around the clouds as it heats up the day.
A sailboat went under the drawbridge as I walked back to my weekend abode.
As you might know, I'm not a huge fan of weddings, and the lot of government funded buses reminded me a lot of work, but that would all be forgotten upon arrival at...
Kennedy Space Center near Orlando.
Seems like it would hurt to land in the ocean in one of these.
The Explorer, a full scale orbiter replica. They're much bigger than you would anticipate...
...and undoubtedly more comfortable then this single seater with...
...a large rocket to boost Alan Shepard into space for the first time!
This one has room for three... and a lot of explosive power.
I've been thinking about planting one of these in the back next year...
...it would look something like this!
Forget the little toy shuttle's... I want this one for Christmas.
I sat in on a live mission briefing, getting all the latest updates on each orbiter and...
...the space station...
...from different views.
Looking down the cargo bay of the Explorer orbiter.
The infamous arm that unloads everything in space and inspects the tiles prior to re-entry.
The cockpit.
Just a few of the 24,000 tiles under the Explorer...
...up close and individually tagged.
It looks small from here, but in the distance is the well known vehicle assembly building.
Looks like a rocket launch pad in the distance.
If you look close, just above the railing, a slow photographer tried capturing a manatee before it went under the water.
Think you have a long clothes line? Look under the building roof, just above the fence line for a view of the "clothes" line where they dry the orbiter parachutes after washing them. (Imagine the size of the washer!)
The vehicle assembly building up close...
...and the back side. If you look close, you can see portions of Discovery through the open door on the right.
One of the two launch pads getting prepped.
Yup... it's a bunker, but not for bunking people. It protects sensitive electronic equipment from the shock waves produced during a launch. The closest people to a launch are still over a mile away and everything is controlled 3.4 miles away!
A vew of the launch pad surrounded by lightening masts.
...mere feet from the Atlantic ocean.
In an attempt to give you an idea of the width (160 feet) of the 8.23 million pound shuttle transporting mobile launcher platform, here's a picture of one of the tracks it rides in. The crawlerway only has 4.5 feet of crushed stone, among other fill items in it's engineered depth.
Of course, what's a crawlerway the width of an 8 lane highway when you have one of the largest buildings in the world, complete with it's own climates!?! It only took 6,000 gallons of paint for the 209 ft x 110 ft flag on the side. For perspective, that's 2/3rds of a football field in lenth and width! Rest assured, there's plenty of room for the 71 cranes inside.
Standing upside down and slightly smaller than the building behind it.
It is tough to see, but the shuttle runway is in the background. Since it is a glider, they don't make the pilots steer around the light poles.
I wouldn't mind having one of my walls painted like this.
"Houston, we have a problem..." mission control room.
The largest rocket ever made, the mighty Saturn V for transporting men to the moon.
...and you thought I had a lot of energy!
More interesting facts about the vertical assembly building.
The bus that took the astronauts to the launch pad.
To the moon and back in this speedy (25,000 mph) little capsule.
...and I thought my door locks were sophisticated!
A man on the moon...
...and a moon rock for touching.
Typical goverment contractors working hard preparing another payload for the shuttle.
Since the lady wouldn't let me get a picture with the astronaut, I just took his picture.
The sunsets in Florida can be pretty too as I left the Kennedy Space Center and headed back to Idaho, the only place on earth where...
...you can openly advertise a "Pot Farm"! As I look through the pictures on this blog, there are many good memories, but I'm also about to embark with you on an unforgettable adventure into the depths of the Grand Canyon with lots of pictures for proof. So check back soon!
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