Around Sanford FL and the Kennedy Space Center

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June 11th 2011

Published: June 13th 2011

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retiredfflarry

Door Prize Winner

Town and Country RV Resort - Sanford FL

Hey, I’m still alive and well! The last several months have been hectic in some respects but very relaxing and enjoyable in others. Kay and I arrived in Florida on November 23, 2010 – the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I went to the VA Hospital in Gainesville to effect a change of address to my Aunt Lena’s home in Sanford FL so I could pick up my VA correspondence at her home instead of having it forwarded from Rockford. Here’s a short note for those who know me. I had believed PTSD was all about flashbacks and nightmares but recently learned that insomnia and affiliation difficulties are also symptoms of PTSD. I have been taking a mild sleep aid prescribed by the VA and am feeling much more rested and energetic. I expected my PTSD treatment would begin shortly after the beginning of 2011; however, I just had my first counseling session on Thursday, April 21, 2011. I won’t bore you with the details of the hurdles and hoops, but my long-overdue treatment finally is underway.

We arrived at the Town and Country RV Park in Sanford FL and learned there would be a noon meal on Thanksgiving Day (fortunately, the

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

Smyrna Dunes Park - New Smyrna Beach FL

meal at Aunt Lena’s was later that day), and we were invited to sit with four hospitable park residents during lunch. Almost everyone else we met was just as friendly. Later that day, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Aunt Lena and a good portion of her family. That Friday, my cousin Pat and his wife, Alison, took us to New Smyrna Beach to stroll the boardwalk and watch the Gopher Turtles at Smyrna Dunes Park and then to go for a drive through Daytona Beach to look at some street rods in town for a show. During early and mid-December we made a quick trip back to Silver City for the closing on the house Barb and I finally sold (as well as teeth cleaning, routine truck maintenance, ya-da, ya-da), but we got back to Florida in time to spend Christmas with all the relatives we saw at Thanksgiving plus some additions who came in from out of state.

Pat and Alison had pointed out the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse on our first visit to Smyrna Dunes Park, so we returned one morning to walk the boardwalk and watch the Gopher Turtles. In the afternoon, we drove several miles from the

Gopher Tortoise

Smyrna Dunes Park - New Smyrna Beach FL

park around and about to get to the lighthouse just across the inlet. Oh, sometimes to be a crow! We were told that until recently a ferry had transported cars and people across the inlet. The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is quite impressive. This being my first lighthouse tourism experience, I can only say that if others exceed Ponce I will be really impressed. Eight buildings (in addition to the lighthouse) and several outdoor displays are open to the public. We climbed the 203-step, 175-foot tower and were treated to incredible views. The life of a lighthouse keeper is well- portrayed and the operation and history of the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is well-documented. A visit to a comprehensive lighthouse complex is interesting and highly recommended for all. The learning is on the ground. Climbing the structure is an option. If you have the opportunity, Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is a gem.

We celebrated New Year’s Eve with our new friends at the RV park. The park population is composed mostly of seasonal residents from the northeastern US, and a cadre of residents works with park management to organize numerous activities. In addition to New Year’s Eve, the park hosted meals for

Manatee in Water From Hot Spring

Blue Spring State Park - Orange City FL

Christmas and Easter as well as numerous potlucks along the way. Parties celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and the Super Bowl and monthly dances kept our feet happy. Management arranged an appearance by an Elvis impersonator and a bus trip to the casino in Tampa to break up the routine of bingo, crafts, shuffleboard, pool, jigsaw puzzles, etc., etc. Many of the park “bikers” caravan to a local eatery for Saturday breakfast before setting out for a “leader’s choice” ride. We were invited to tag along in the truck but came home after breakfast. Town and Country is an older park with its strength in its residents who have been returning for 30+ years in a few cases.

One cold (yeah, right) morning in January, we set out for Blue Spring State Park to see the manatees or sea cows. The spring water is crystal clear and maintains a constant temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit. During cold periods, the manatees migrate upstream several hundred yards from the cooler St. John’s River where they spend warmer days. The park is nice and just watching the manatees is fascinating. We were invited to join our two “new best” friends in the park,

Sun Bathing on a Cool Morning

On The St. Johns River with Bob & Judy - Near DeBary FL

Bob and Judy, for a ride on their pontoon boat on St. John River. They try to get out 2-3 times a week and frequently invite park residents along. What a treat! Alligators and turtles sunned themselves on logs. Blue herons, sand cranes, ibis and osprey fished the waters and soared through the brilliant skies. Even a tom turkey made an appearance. Wild pigs, raccoons, otters and deer were bashful on our trips but have been spotted numerous times. Bob and Judy knew the location of a pod of hatchling alligators that was “in training” under mom’s watchful eye. On our last pontoon ride of the year, we spotted a handful of manatees in the St. John River. It was interesting to see them in more natural surroundings.

Bob and Judy had been to several space shuttle launches but offered to take us over to Titusville for the final launch of Discovery. Bob had found some shortcuts to a waterfront Wendy’s restaurant about as close to the launch pad as we could get without a hard-to-come-by ticket to the Kennedy Space Center. We saw some “improvised” parking lots that were further away charging as much as $25. I don’t

Memorial to Astronauts of the Apollo I Crew Lost on January 27. 1967

Launch Complex 34 - Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Cape Canaveral FL

think the Wendy’s manager cared who parked in the lot because the restaurant was full – save the twenty or so minutes surrounding the actual launch. What more could he want? The time leading up to the launch found the mood of the crowd light-hearted although the danger was not lost. I wonder how the atmosphere might have compared to pre-Challenger launches. Bob’s shortcuts helped us avoid the traffic that had the freeway still busy when the local news aired at 11 PM.

I have been intrigued by the space program since 1961 when Alan Shephard made the first American voyage into sub-orbital flight. The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station offers free tours of the old launch facilities (Mercury, Gemini and early Apollo) on the second Wednesday of the month. I was able to secure reservations for the tour for Wednesday, May 11 and then made reservations for a week beginning Sunday, May 8 at the Manatee Hammock RV Park in Titusville. The tour was excellent and narrated by a docent with extensive knowledge of NASA history and all of the launch vehicles both past and present. Our first stop was at a bunker house (complete with authentic equipment)

Each Stripe on the Flag Is 13' 6" Wide

Vehicle Assembly Building - Kennedy Space Center - Titusville FL

where rocket launches were controlled – before the rockets became so powerful the controllers had to move further away. We were allowed to disembark at Launch Pad 34 to view the memorial to astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffey who were killed in a fire during a pre-flight test of Apollo I as it sat on the pad. Another stop at the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse allowed us to ascend to a window about forty feet up the lighthouse and then descend. Since there were no other buildings or displays, it was nice but not impressive. Our last stop was at the observation bleachers the Air Force uses for VIPs to view Cape Canaveral AFS rocket launches. From there, we could see Launch Pad 39-A and the orange tank attached to Endeavour as it awaited launch. Highly recommended if you can tweak your schedule to be in Titusville the second Wednesday of the month. Call early for those limited reservations. If you don’t make the tour, the free Air Force Space and Missile History Center is just outside the north gate of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and is open to the public most days. The Center has

Saturn V Rocket

Kennedy Space Center - Titusville FL

lots of information but is short on artifacts - a good stop for the enthusiast.

A regular pass to Kennedy provides admission for two consecutive days (good thing, because there is more to see than one day would allow), but an annual pass costs only $12 more. We got the annual pass, spent three days at Kennedy, one day at the Astronaut Hall of Fame and plan to return for a Delta II or an Atlas V launch later this year. The Astronaut Hall of Fame is right outside the Visitor Complex entrance and can be accessed (for a fee) without entering the Space Center; however, admission to Kennedy also gets you into the Hall of Fame. For an enthusiast like myself, the Hall of Fame takes an entire day plus the two days to “do it all” inside Kennedy. The Shuttle Launch Experience (included in the admission fee) is an absolute must do (I’ve been on it four times so far), and the “Astronaut Encounter” rotates featured space veterans offering their own individual perspective and presentation. Following the presentation, questions are entertained. Both IMAX 3-D movies are included in the admission fee and are highly recommended. I was

Lunar Rover

Kennedy Space Center - Titusville FL

told the free bus tour of Kennedy is virtually the same as the “Discover KSC: Today and Tomorrow” add-on so you can save some money there; however, if you cannot take advantage of the free Air Force Station tour, the cost of the “Cape Canaveral: Then and Now” add-on would definitely be justified – albeit less comprehensive than the free tour I am told. All the KSC tours end at the Saturn V display. The 363 foot-long, 33 foot-diameter rocket is displayed horizontally and is impressive to say the least. Put Kennedy Space Center on your bucket list even if your interest in the space program is only marginal. Take some time to use a simulator to land a lunar module or to dock the shuttle to the International Space Station. There is a lot to see and to experience!

For the launch of Endeavour, we found ourselves in the “lucky zone.” Manatee Hammock borders the inlet across from the shuttle launch pad on Merritt Island and is about the same distance from the launch as was Wendy’s. When the Endeavour launch was postponed to Monday, May 16 (the day after we were scheduled to leave), we extended our

Multitudes of Colors

Butterfly Rainforest Univ. of Florida Natural History Museum - Gainesville FL

stay and had a totally different experience. Discovery was launched into clear, blue skies. We were able to watch until it became too small to see. After about 15-20 seconds, we heard the faint, barely perceptible rumble of Discovery’s engines. On the morning of the launch of Endeavour, we were greeted by a heavy, low-hanging layer of clouds and wondered if the launch would be postponed yet again. The television reports said the launch was a go. With about five minutes remaining in the countdown, we strolled down to the shore and watched Endeavour disappear into the overcast above. Initially, I was somewhat disappointed and was glad that I had not travelled from hundreds of miles away (as had some). About ten seconds after the shuttle had vanished into the clouds, the roar of the engines resonated with such intensity that my lungs and other internal organs actually began vibrating. My only explanation is that the clouds contained the noise from Endeavour; whereas, the clear skies allowed the noise from Discovery to escape upwards as well as laterally. Awesome! Utterly awesome!

What about Aunt Lena? After all, I had opted to winter in Florida and get my VA medical

Estimated Age - 3500 Years

Big Tree Park - Lakewood FL

care in Gainesville so I could spend some time with her. We took her and her boyfriend Bill to the University of Florida Natural History Museum in Gainesville to walk through the Butterfly Rain Forest. What a delightful ecosystem they have developed – birds, turtles, fish and butterflies galore amid a wide variety of plant life. Then, we took them to Lena’s Seafood Restaurant for a nice dinner. She really got a kick out of that! They really enjoyed the butterflies – especially when one would land on one or the other of them. Another day, we took them to Clermont FL to visit with my cousin Shirley and her husband John. They hadn’t seen each other for some time and we had a really enjoyable visit. In addition we’ve watched several NASCAR races and Orlando Magic basketball games with her and have gone out to eat several times. She is a real delight and the only surviving member from her generation.

One day we broke the routine by making a trip to the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Garden just down the road from the RV park. It’s a small zoo and is worth a visit if you

I Hate Goodbyes

Central Florida Zoo - Sanford FL

have a day that needs an activity but could hardly be called a destination attraction. A cute aside – one of the parrots readily said hello when prompted; but try as I might he/she would not say goodbye to my encouragement. We turned to walk away, took two or three steps and heard, “Goodbye.” Another day found us at Big Tree Park – home of the oldest and largest known cypress tree in Florida. Again, the 17-1/2 foot diameter tree is impressive and is a nice fill-in for some open time. In addition to Titusville, we made week-long trips to Gainesville and to St. Augustine. I’ll address those adventures soon in separate entries. In the meantime, I’ll keep attending therapy and hope for some positive results.

Additional photos below

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