The road ends at the ocean. If you stand near the crashing waves on Playalinda Beach at Canaveral National Seashore and look south, you can see Launch Complex 39. Built for Saturns, for the last 30 years it has been used for Space Shuttles—until last Friday when the last one flew. Standing on the seashore, you […]
Yearly Archives: 2011
Mosquito Lagoon
Tue, 12 Jul 2011, 03:37 PM (-06:00)
We were here a couple years ago—just up the shore a bit on a pine tree trail where we found ourselves enswarmed by mosquitos setting upon us with such ferocity that we could not swap fast enough. And here we are again—taking a road that we didn’t take back then but along which the mosquitos swarm just as ferociously. […]
Not Much of That
Tue, 12 Jul 2011, 06:37 AM (-06:00)
I was sitting outside our motel room trying to read a book. Sitting in the shade. Looking up periodically at the crashing waves. Trying to ignore the woman sitting in front of the next room who has many issues. I looked up and saw something flying overhead, An Osprey. Flying low. Just above the palm […]
Motel Wireless
Tue, 12 Jul 2011, 06:29 AM (-06:00)
So we finally managed to connect to the motel wireless in Cocoa Beach. It turned out that we just needed to sit outside by the picnic tables so that we were closer to the base station—too many brick walls in the way, otherwise. Mind you, it’s not that we were jittery without a fix or […]
One Hour Photo
Mon, 11 Jul 2011, 08:08 PM (-06:00)
1. The Kid on the Sidewalk We were on our way to Waffle House for breakfast. (We always have breakfast there when we’re in Cocoa Beach. It’s a kind of addiction.) So we were driving north, and we passed a kid on the sidewalk. He was holding a plain white sign that said, “Launch Photos” […]
STS-135
Mon, 11 Jul 2011, 10:53 AM (-06:00)
1. Pre-Dawn “The fishing pier’s almost full, but there’s still room.” We were the last people on the pier with a front row seat and a clear view of Launch Complex 39. It was small but clearly visible, shining on the horizon with pencils of white light shooting up into the darkness. Everyone else arriving […]
Motel in Cocoa Beach
Fri, 8 Jul 2011, 07:00 PM (-06:00)
1. The Bad News Her face went blank. Something was not right. The fair and industrious Trudy was on her cell phone with the Sea Aire [link] in Cocoa Beach letting them know that we were two hours away. She wanted to ask them if they’d still be in the office when we arrived. She closed her […]
Liquid Water
Fri, 8 Jul 2011, 06:21 PM (-06:00)
A strange thing happened as we drove along the Florida panhandle yesterday. Liquid water started falling from the air. Liquid water. Falling out of the sky. Making the highway wet. Imagine that. I’d seen this happen before, but that was a long time ago. And now here we are, driving in from the west, and […]
Morning in Tallahassee
Thu, 7 Jul 2011, 08:01 AM (-06:00)
1. Bed “This bed is so comfortable,” Trudy said as she rolled over in the morning. I mumbled in agreement. There’s nothing like a king side bed (even if you don’t get all of your half). 2. Cereal “This is the best raisin bran I’ve ever had,” said Trudy as she drank the last of […]