2018 Florida and Bahamas - Day Seven - Chilly Florida and Kennedy Space Center

Well…cruise is over.  Upon waking up, we were already at port in Port Canaveral.  I was up by 6 AM and showered.  I went up top to see what the weather was like and HOLY SMOKES…it was 30 degrees!  Below freezing in Florida.  We had not packed for such weather.  Our only hope was to see the sunshine and hope it would warm up a bit as we were headed to Kennedy Space Center for the day before we headed to the airport to fly home.

 

We were off the ship by 8 AM and on the pre-arranged shuttle (Cocoa Beach Shuttle) with other guests.  We drove into Cocoa Beach to drop the other guests off at their car.  They were making a drive to Alabama…some 10+ hour drive.  After dropping them off, we headed to Kennedy Space Center (KSC).  Upon arriving, the parking lot was pretty barren.  All good…if it was a warm day.  We entered the KSC a few minutes after opening.  We immediately headed to the bus tour that takes you on an hour long ride over to the area where rockets are launched.  We saw the huge building where rockets are assembled and placed on to the machines that slowly haul them to the launch pads.  Huge machinery.  One track of that mobile platform weighs 2 tons…I believe.  Crazy.  They told us the fuel consumption required for those movers…pretty amazing even though they are hybrids as they actually are moved by electricity.  The gas is used for the electric generators.  On our bus tour we ended up in the Saturn 5 facility where a full sized Saturn 5 rocket was held.  These rockets were used for all the Apollo missions.  What these men did sitting small on top of these firestorms is nothing short of miraculous and heroic.  It takes some real courage to do something like that for  your life career.  After returning on the bus back to the KSC visitor complex, we were able to then go into the Atlantis exhibit where they have the Atlantis shuttle on display.  Each of these areas show real stuff used and found that you can touch and get up close to.  Movies are playing constantly telling you about the role all these machines have played in technology enhancements that we use day in and day out.  But seeing a shuttle and hearing about the technology and the space station that it built was cool.  I had no idea that the shuttles flew over 130 missions!  I had no idea.  5 were built.  2 were destroyed in missions.  3 are on display around the country.  The last thing I will say about our visit to KSC was looking into the future.  That night, a rocket was to launch a satellite into space.  But the cooler thing was to happen the following morning.  The largest rocket ever was to do a test…more powerful than any rocket yet built all with the idea to get back to the moon and then to mars.  But these rockets are reusable.  They are programmed to return to the launch pad (or some other point) and land.  They had videos showing that.  Amazing.  But Mars is the goal by 2030.  I hope I’m alive to witness it.

 

At 3:30 PM, we met our shuttle once again.  They kept all our suit cases and stuff then came and picked us up to take us to the airport.  The driver was young fellow who basically told us his life story.  He did not quit talking…jabber, jabber, jabber for about 45 minutes.  Michelle was the listening ear while Jeff slept.  Denise and I were in the back just kind of listening to him.  He was  a nice young man trying to make a go of his life and situation.  Already divorced though and dealing with child management.  So sad what people do and the adverse impact on their offspring.

 

We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to get some dinner and then head to our gate.  Jeff and Michelle departed us immediately.  They were flying on Delta in one terminal and we were on Jet Blue in another.  But they did not have seats assigned, so they wanted to get to the gate and work it out as soon as they could.  It was a race home as they departed 30 minutes before we did.  They indeed landed early, retrieved the car at the Park-n-Jet, then came to get us.  Actually, the whole day worked like clockwork!  We were home just after 10 PM in ‘warmer’ climate.  It was actually warmer in SLC than in Florida…hard to believe.

 

Another great trip seeing different parts of our country and a new one (Bahamas).  I doubt I’ll ever go back to the Bahamas.  Nothing there really grabbed me other than the ocean.  But as I learned at KSC, the bulk of the earth is water.  97% of that water is not consumable.  2% is in glaciers and things and cannot be utilized.  That leaves 1% for all of us to share to stay alive.  Pretty crazy numbers….conserver your water but enjoy it!  Until we travel again…..

 

Pictures:

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) entrance....

Bus tour to launch pads and Saturn 5 facility that had all the Apollo and moon stuff.

Saturn 5 Rocket....

Largest single story building in the world.  Rockets assembled and placed on to launch vehicle here....

Apollo capsule...

Actual flight suits used on Apllo missions.

Actual mission control devices used ....

Denise at the helm of a shuttle...

Booster rockets and fuel tank outside the Shuttle Atlantis exhibit....

Cool world exhibit....

The freezing tour group at cruise port waiting for shuttle to KSC...