Today we drove north to Cape Canaveral to watch the shuttle Endeavour return to the Kennedy Space Center. The alarm clock started nagging us at 7:00, but we successfully ignored it until 8:00. By the time we got out of bed, ate breakfast, and hit the road, it was 9:30. This disturbed me because the drive up takes over an hour and the shuttle was scheduled to land at 10:48. This was cutting it far too close for my comfort.
At 10:30, we were approaching our viewing spot, fifteen miles south of the runway, along state route 528, west of Cape Canaveral. We were eastbound and I needed to turn around to get to our spot. Unfortunately, I took the wrong exit off the highway and ended up on a northbound road with a drawbridge, and wouldn't you know it, the bridge was open! Oh no! The car in front of us must have been thinking the same thing. He made a sharp left turn and drove through the grass median onto the south bound lane. We decided, “If he can do it, so can we.” We were at our viewing spot five minutes later, with about thirteen minutes to spare.
The viewing spot was on the viaduct crossing the Banana River, west of Cape Canaveral. We climbed the hill leading to the bridge to get a good view. I was just about to sit down when a highway maintenance man told us to be careful of the ants. We quickly moved back down to the water's edge. Andrew wanted to play on the rocks, but we said no because there was trash lying around and we wanted him to keep his shoes dry.
Eventually, we wondered back near the highway. As we stood there among the crowd, with cars driving by near us, we heard a pair of loud pops. It startled me so much that I jumped. It sounded to me like gunshots, or a car back-firing. Of course, it was the sonic booms from the shuttle passing overhead. We looked for it, but were unable to find it. At 10:48, someone announced that it was 10:48. Shortly afterwards, someone announced that the shuttle had landed.
Since we had just driven over an hour, I wasn't ready to jump in the car and drive home yet. We headed northwest towards Titusville, in search of a park with a picnic table and a playground. We knew we could go to Sand Point Park, but I was hoping to find someplace different. We ended up going to William J. Manzo Memorial Park.
Eating lunch at William J. Manzo Memorial Park, Titusville
After lunch, we continued north in search of a shuttle landing viewing spot more suited to landings to the south. We ended up driving into the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. As we drove east along highway 402, we found the north entrance to the Kennedy Space Center, which runs parallel and very close to the runway. This would be a great spot to watch a southbound landing.
With a viewing spot located, we went back to the Visitor Center. The operator told Susan that the refuge closes about 30 minutes before a landing, but if we arrived earlier, we could stay and watch. Sounds like a plan for the next landing. I was quite impressed with the Visitor Center. It had a display in the center of the building depicting some of the wildlife in the refuge, including: a turtle, snakes, a bobcat, raccoons, and Bald Eagles. Andrew was fascinated by the wildlife habitat displays, which contained buttons that lit photos and corresponding locations on a map, as well as turning display boards. Outside was a boardwalk leading around a small lake, through the forest, then past a wetlands area.
Bald eagle display at the Visitor's Center
We decided to see a little more of the Wildlife Refuge. First we drove along the Black Point Wildlife Drive, then we visited the Manatee Observation Deck. The wildlife drive wasn't terribly interesting - I still haven't seen any alligators in Florida - but we saw at least six manatees from the observation deck. Looking at the map, the Oak and Palm Hammock Trails parking lot is directly below the extended centerline of the Shuttle Landing Facility.
By now it was time to start heading towards home. I still wanted to make one more stop. Since we didn't get to see Endeavour, I figured I could settle for the next best thing - the shuttle model at the Kennedy Space Center's U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.
U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
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2 comments:
Despite not seeing the shuttle land, I enjoyed our time on Merritt Island! And, when we came home this evening, Andrew said, "This was a good day!" That was music to my ears. :)
It's too bad,that you've missed the landing, but it loks like you had a good day otherwise! I liked the pictures, especially the first one. :)
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