3, 2, 1, Lift Off!

I've been a bit of a space geek this summer.  While in Daytona, we took a day and went to the Kennedy Space Center.  It was stifling hot, but we hoped to inspire a little person in our company with a bit of imagination about discovery and science. 

Then, we we found out our anniversary cruise would be boarding on the the same day as the final flight of Atlantis, we decided at the last minute to leave in time to see it.  Actually, I had wanted to go all along, but didn't want to pressure anyone into leaving early, especially since it's never a sure thing depending on the weather.  Since I had only experienced launches on tv, I wanted to be able to see it with my own eyes just once.  Luckily, Marc and Hillary really love me, so they agreed to jump in the truck and head on down a night before we had planned. 

We arrived at the port with just minutes to spare.  We didn't know where to park to watch it as there were tons of people stopped on the side of all the roads.  There were boats riding in from the ocean to see it.  That in itself was something to see.  We didn't want to be stuck in traffic and not be able to board our ship on time.  So, we go all the way to the port (a full two hours before boarding time) and find a spot in the parking deck.  Much to our dismay, we found out that they were already boarding the ship.   We didn't have time to go through the check-in process and get onboard before the launch.  If we had known about the early boarding, we would have made it in time to board the ship so that we could have watched it from the top deck.  Instead we positioned ourselves in a window of the parking deck. 

Being a "live launch" rookie, I didn't know what to expect. There was no countdown in real life, so all of the sudden the onlookers start to cheer. I see smoke from the launch pad, but I don't see anything else. I couldn't believe what was happening. I had gone out of my way to see this and drug my husband and bffs with me. In all the hustle and bustle to see it, I had a sudden fear that I was missing it. I called out in desperation, "I'm missing it!" Being the rock that she has always been, Hillary pointed my eyes to the right spot so I wouldn't miss the historical event. Phew! What would I do without her. Turns out I was seeing it, I just wasn't sure that the billowing white clouds was "it."I finally found the glowing orange flame that was pushing the shuttle and was able to watch it until it went behind the clouds. It wasn't until then that we finally heard the rumble and roar of the engines powering the object into space.

Julie:  "I'm missing it!"
Hillary:  "It is right there....the big orange glow."   

The smoke that followed the glow.
This is when we could finally hear the rumbling. 

The smoke over the boarding area for the cruise ship

Thanks for giving me this experience and for being such good sports about it.  I do try to hide my geekiness most of the time.  I know it definitely shined through for this event!  Thanks for loving me despite of it.  

From one out-of-this-world experience to another!