Exploring Outer Space

Ned here. Today's big event was our trip to the Kennedy Space Center. We arrived around 10 a.m. and were pleased to see that not too many other people were there. We think maybe the day after Memorial Day weekend was a good day for us to attend. Our first event there was watching a 3D IMAX movie about the repair of the Hubble Deep Space telescope. There were some really gorgeous scenes in that film of distant galaxies. Next we took the ride on the Shuttle Lift Off Simulator. That exhibit did a particularly good job of explaining all the steps before and during liftoff. One thing I learned that I had always wondered about was why you see a bunch of sparks underneath rocket engines several seconds before they actually finish the countdown to liftoff. Turns out those are intentionally created to burn off any excess hydrogen which might be present, thus avoiding an unintended explosion prior to liftoff. We then spent some time looking at the exhibits in both the Early Space Exploration and the Astronauts Hall of Fame, which were both really interesting. As part of these displays we both tried our hands at some flight control simulations. I'm not sure how Debi performed on these, but I'm sorry to report that I managed to crash my vessel twice into the space station, along with smashing the space shuttle into the landing strip, although I was successful at landing the lunar module onto the surface of the moon! Having spent nearly 5 hours(!) at the Space Center we decided to head north towards St. Augustine. We were not convinced that the town of Daytona Beach has aged very well, as Debi has memories of it being extremely cool when she was in her early teens. However, the seemingly endless miles of spectacular beaches which ran north of the city impressed us greatly. Once we arrived in St. Augustine, Debi was completely with the feel of the old part of town. We spent a long time just walking around the quaint little streets, taking photos, as the sun fell lower in the sky. It was a very beautiful way to few the place, and appreciate all the old buildings and their charm. I'm sure we will be spending lots of time there tomorrow, as Debi has now found another town which she has fallen in love with! See today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Anastasia State Park, FL

Miami - Move Along, Move Along

Our time being beach bums is over, and into metropolis we go. It's surreal leaving the keys, the last stop being Key Largo and onto a sea foam green freeway divider. You feel like you're on a Disney Autopia ride. Our first destination was the "must see, never to be believed" roadside attraction of Coral Castle. The story goes that a 5 ft. 100 lb. Latvian man was jilted at the altar and spent the rest of his life carving a home out of coral in dedication to his lost love. We paid the big bucks and got to see Ed's handiwork. The big mystery is how such a little guy accomplished this singlehandedly. It was interesting, but didn't really seem all that comfy or cozy. Actually, I give a lot more credit to the fiancé for having the sense to bolt. She definitely seemed like the sane one! (ah Debi, you romantic). Actually, the most interesting part of the Castle was that the "Wild Women from Wongo" was filmed here in 1959. After that little adventure our next stop was Miami Beach. We thought it would be fun to ride our bikes along South Beach, check out the beautiful people and catch some more Cuban food. This is where our day started getting a little weird. Upon arriving in downtown, we got caught in a police escort. Really! The motorcycles cops were escorting a fancy bus through the streets and we were stuck right in front of it, being motioned thru red lights by the cops on every street corner until we reached the American Airlines arena. I felt like giving all the bystanders my best princess wave. Turns out that there's something like an NBA basketball playoff and the bus was either the Heat or the Mavericks. Go figure. When we crossed into Miami Beach, most of the streets were closed and thousands of cars were creeping and beeping along. We saw a parking spot along the road and just took it, figuring we could bike it from there. Well, turns out I had a flat tire, and as Mr. Gallant was fixing it, a "local gentleman" approached us and informed us that this area was for locals only and we should leave. At this point I realized we were in a sketchy neighborhood and we should take his advice and scram. After sitting in traffic and not moving we decided to forego the Miami Beach scene and move onto Plan B. I got on the Internet to see what Memorial Day activities were holding things up. Turns out it's the annual Hip Hop festival. That explains so much of what was going on! Meanwhile we found a great Brazilian Restaurant, away from the action, and thoroughly enjoyed a very meaty lunch. Feeling that we weren't welcome in Miami Beach, we headed to the very upscale and tony Palm Beach. Nancy told us about a great Bike Trail where we can view all the swanky mansions. Cool! As we were reading about the trail, the following info is stated: "...many of the people using the trail are unusually well dressed and polite. Visitors should dress and act appropriately." Well, we definitely got a chuckle out of that, especially since Ned now had grease stained shorts from the tire repair and after 3 weeks of camping I was definitely looking like something the cat dragged in. As we unloaded the bikes and approached the trail, we noticed a sign that said "trail closed for repairs", and sure enough there was a pipe blocking the trail. Mmm, seems like we weren't fitting in with the hip hop crowd or able to hang with the upper crust. So, we just said let's go do what we do best and head for biking and camping at the State Park. Ah, home sweet home. We checked out the river, but it was much too warm to cool off - not to mention the snake I saw and warning signs of alligators. So, a bike it was thru the park. The crowds have left so it's a very mellow scene. So much form our re-entry into civilization. Tomorrow we go at it again. today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Fl