Home again (Wednesday 20th)

An uneventful transatlantic flight, other than a 157mph tailwind and an indicated airspeed of 705mph at one point! After 20 minutes in the stack at Gatwick an extremley smooth landing was carried in zero visibility and was attributed to by the captain to Mr. Boeing as it was a completely hands-off automatic landing. Better than the ones at Heathrow then!

Bit of a mix up with the hand baggage allowance, which is still being investigated, then the short flight to Manchester. Tom departed by train for Sheffield having completed his "I-Spy America" exercise and we found the YRV at the hotel and headed home.

Oh yeah, thanks to Dave and Edward for the Oracle phone calls at Gatwick!

Police Hall of Fame (Tuesday 19th)

As we didn't have to be at the airport until 15:00 we said goodbye to Linda at the Casa and headed to the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum, also in Titusville. This turned out to be a gem of a place with much more to see than we had time for. There are displays of guns from many infamous people including the one that killed JFK, and police vehicles through the ages. There is also a 9/11 memorial with debris from the Twin Towers and the aircraft and a list of all the officers who gave their lives that day. For a few dollars more, one could go onto the shooting range and have a go with live ammunition. Our instructor, Chuck, made sure we could hold a weapon and point it in the right direction and then we had to literally sign our lives away and don ear and eye protection. Tom and I got through 50 rounds of 9mm ammo while Anne shot 100 rounds of .22, much enjoyed by all three of us. There is also the option to fly in the police helicopter but we didn't have enough time so that will have to wait for the next trip.

So then it was the 40 minute drive to Orlando Airport and give back the big 300, check-in, eat, loose sun-glasses and board the BA 777 home.

Manatees. (Monday 18th)

The Shuttle should have been landing today but the mission has been extended so it's off sightseeing instead. When we were here in December, Mike and Becky were very enthusiastic about seeing the Manatees so we are going to try and find them.

A pleasant drive into the nature reserve was interupted by another tropical storm, and we think it rains in the UK! The sky just turned black and down came the rain for about 10 minutes, then out came the sun and everything was dry again. Found the viewing platform at The Haulover Canal and spent a while watching the Manatees lazing about in the water.

Then back to Titusville to pack everything up and dinner one last time at Dogs-R-Us, now one of Anne's favorite places.

Back to Titusville. (Sunday 17th)

[The computer at the Casa "blew up" on Sunday so I've had to finish the blog from home.]

Another beautiful day in Florida so we packed up and headed for the coast, via Walmart, along the 192 to Melbourne. We found a great spot at Paradise Beach and stopped for lunch, a walk on the sands and a paddle in the Atlantic. We continued up the coast through Cocoa Beach and past Patrick Airforce Base and took the little used back roads to the Space Center and from there to Titusville and the Casa.

When I said I was going to Casa Coquina everyone said "Wear the Fox Hat"....

... so I did!!

EPCOT

Had a great day at EPCOT on Friday. There was a shuttle bus from the hotel which we used and this also provided an hour's tour of the hotels of Orlando! We walked around the world twice and went on a couple of boat trips around the displays and on what seemed to be the largest ride in the world when the whole theater seating set off on trip through time. The evening was topped off by a fabulous firework and laser display in the middle of the lagoon. A somewhat shorter tour of hotels on the way back but it was still after 11:00pm when we got to the hotel. Oh yes, I met Mickey Mouse as well!!!

Today we went to the "Largest Shopping Mall in Florida" but didn't buy anything, well I didn't but Anne managed a couple of "real bargins" and Tom found a game for his DS. I did look at some gadgets but the savings are not that great on electrical goods and of course they're 110 volt. So we spent the afternoon in or around the pool and spa and may go back later for a late night dip.

Tomorrow we head east back to Titusville and maybe a day at Cocoa Beach. The Shuttle was originally due to land on Monday but the mission has been extended until Wednesday so we'll miss that. Endeavour should be rolling out to the Pad so maybe we can capture that.

Hopefully we'll be able to get some pictures uploaded tomorrow as well.

Catch up....

Finally a decent internet connect so we can fill in the blanks from the last few days.

After our two day stay at the Holiday Inn at Boynton Beach, and a day in the Mall, we set off to the Hampton Inn and Suites at Islamodara in the Florida Keys. The drive down took most of the day but the rewards were worth it as the Keys are beautiful. On Wednesday we set off for Key West, the most southerly part of the continental US, in sunshine but after about an hour we were in the middle of a tropical storm. Great, 4500 miles to be stuck on a highway in the rain! It dried out by lunch time and we had a very pleasant day.

Today was a long trip up to Orlando along the Forida Turnpike and Tom had his first drive of the big 300. No problems, only a few roadworks, but it was probably the best day we've had, wall to wall sunshine and we were stuck in the car for six hours. We are now at the Crown Plaza Orlando Resort for 3 days and are off to Epcot tomorrow, doing the touristy bit.

I'll try and upload some pictures now so check them out, more news soon.

Waffles all the way!!!

Made my first 'Waffle' this morning with a little help from an American lady. I used the waffle iron, it's great fun. The boys managed to share it with me, so tomorrow I could be making three, the trouble is you have to choose maple syrup, berries or whipped butter or all of them !!

We have been shopping in the Mall, we went to J C Pennys, Sears and Macys, it seems so quiet after the ones at home, I think it is just that there is sooo much more room.
We have a suite at the Holiday Inn, it's cool there is a kitchen with everything, and a laundry room, so guess what I've been doing, just like N Z.

Tomorrow we are heading off to Key Largo, Montego or somewhere thereabouts, we want to drive over the overseas highway ( the one used on 'True Lies').

Guess where we got some cash...

Back to Kennedy

Went back to the Space Center for a ride on the Shuttle Launch Experience and to let Anne loose in the Space Shop. It was very quiet there, everyone must have gone home after yesterday's launch so we had no problems getting into the exhibits. Called in at the Astronaut's Hall of Fame for a couple of hours on the way back to the Casa.

Better start looking for somewhere to stay next as we leave here on Sunday for our drive to the Keys. Off to Wally World (Walmart) tomorrow for a look around.

Up, up and away!

Finally we can wear our "I was there" T-shirts! :-D Hopefully you can make out the remains of the trail behind mum & dad. Don't worry, I have (lots) more pictures! ;-) The wind was carrying the noise away from us, so apparently it was one of the quietest launches ever. Oh well, can't have everything!

;-)

Anyway, we're on good terms with the weather, as this morning there was only a 30% chance of a launch due to possible storms (caused by the same system that brought the tornados to other parts of the US).

It was nice to see how busy it gets around launch time, although I'm not sure everyone was quite as excited as us...

:-)

More later...

So, if I press this the Shuttle launches?

Went to the Space Center today and on the Then and Now tour to see the original launch facilities for the Mercury and Gemini programs. This is actually the firing console for the first manned US space flight in the original bunker, only 200 feet from the launch pad. The minimum safe distance for a Shuttle launch is three and a half miles, Health and Safety I guess!!

There is only a 20% chance of a launch on Thursday because of the impending thunder storms but there is a chance they won't arrrived until after the launch window. The weather forecast gets worse for the next few days but Sunday or Monday would be possiblities, hey-ho.

Here we are.

Arrived at the Casa after a 19 hour day but no problems with the BA flights. No Dodge Charger again but a Chrysler 300 instead, we didn't want something big! Atlantis is just where Tom and I left it in December, in fact we flew over it on the approach to Orlando. Only a 40% chance of a launch on Thursday as a thunderstorm is predicted for the afternoon so Friday is now favorite with an 80% chance.

Nearly ready.

Hope BA can screw the undercarriage in and nail the wings back on before Tuesday.

OK, flights booked , hotels booked, hire car (Charger again) booked, parking booked and bags ready to be packed. Just the ISS space walk tomorrow to be successful and we should be set to go.

Here we go again......

We've taken the plunge today and booked flights to Florida, BA this time via Gatwick, and Linda and Mary have a room for us at the Casa Coquina so it's back to square one. Slight difference this time in that Anne is coming too, so the boys will have to behave!

NASA are planning a launch on Feb 7th now that the ECO sensor problem has been fixed, but not tested. They are still putting it back together this week, so it's fingers crossed for a launch or else it will be a road trip down to Key West and a few more Warbird Museums. Oh, and some shopping I guess.

[A technician applies foam insulation to a portion of the external tank that space shuttle Atlantis will use at launch. Photo credit: NASA ]