Corporate 5K

Today we ran another 5K race. The Corporate 5K was held at the Melbourne airport. I signed up for this race in late 2019. It was scheduled for mid-April 2020, but was cancelled due to COVID-19, but our purchase carried over to 2021. The 2021 race was also scheduled for mid-April, but this time, the race was delayed until today. Unfortunately for us, it was scheduled 5 days after the Gateway To Space 5K, which we ran on Saturday. This was a little too soon for me to want to run another 5K.

Given its name, you can imagine that there was a corporate theme to the race. Over 100 teams from various companies in Brevard County participated. The Northrop Grumman team had 175 participants. Of all those co-workers, I only saw two that I knew.

Susan dropped me off at 4:45 PM, then went back home to pick up Andrew. At 5:30, the NG team got together for a group photo. Soon afterwards, Susan and Andrew arrived at the parking lot, which was about a mile from the race festivities. I walked halfway to them, then walked back with them.

The gate opened at 6:05 and we were allowed onto airport property. We lined up at the 15 minute/mile sign post. I couldn’t believe how many people were in the line up. The race started at 6:15.

The three of us slowly jogged together for about 3 minutes, at which point my calves started screaming at me. Andrew and Susan continued to somewhere beyond the one mile marker before starting to walk. I occasionally ran and eventually caught up to Susan. Andrew stayed ahead of us and ended up finishing about 2 minutes sooner. It was pretty cool, running about 2500 feet on the mid-size runway - 27R.

Afterwards, we collected our swag – a medal and a T-shirt – and walked back to the car. Susan wanted to celebrate, so we went to Rita’s and got some frozen custard and Italian Ice. I'm tired and just want to relax for the rest of the night.

SpaceX Inspiration4 Mission

On Wednesday evening, SpaceX launched the Inspiration4 crew to space aboard the Crew Dragon “Resilience”. It was an historic flight for many reasons, the primary being that this was the first time a commercial operator launched civilian astronauts into orbit.

Initially, this launch was interesting to me simply for the historic first, but then I watched Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space on Netflix. If you haven’t watched this, I highly recommend that you do. After watching the first two episodes, I had a much more complete understanding of what the flight represented and the civilian astronauts involved in the flight. I no longer thought of this space flight as a “space tourist” money grab; which is what I think about the Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic flights. This flight was about much more than that.

The launch was scheduled for 8:02 PM. After work and school, we left the condo and headed for Titusville. We gave ourselves over two hours to get there, in case it was crowded. Almost immediately after leaving, I wished we had left an hour earlier. There were two crashes on our route, one of which had an entire highway shut down. Thanks to Google Maps, we were routed around the problem areas. It was interesting to see our estimated arrival time changing as the app offered different routes.

Around 7:15, we were getting pretty close to Titusville. We caught up to the end of a long backup on highway 50 where people were trying to go north on Interstate 95. We stayed to the right and continued all the way to the river. Then we headed north on US 1 and stopped at Sand Point Park.

By 7:30, we were parked and started looking for the best viewing spot we could walk to in 20 minutes. We decided to walk up the A. Max Brewer Bridge. Many people had the same idea. We continued up the bridge until nearly reaching the top of the span, then found an open area and stopped. I pulled out my binoculars while Andrew proceeded to set up his Osmo for a motion lapse video. Right on schedule, the Falcon 9 lifted off into the clear evening sky.

The launch was spectacular. After main engine cutoff and separation, we could see the second stage light and continue climbing to the northeast. Meanwhile, stage one began to maneuver towards its landing on the barge, Just Read The Instructions. Each time a thruster fired, a pressure wave was seen radiating outward into the vapor cloud left by stage 2. It must be seen to be believed. And to top it all off, we saw the re-entry burn fire as stage 1 slowed to return to the atmosphere.

Over the next few days, while the crew orbited Earth, higher than any astronauts ever, with the exception of the astronauts who went to the moon and those who worked on the Hubble Telescope, we watched Episodes 3 and 4 of the Netflix special. At this point, we not only knew the purpose of the mission, but we also felt like we knew the astronauts, and their families. We wanted nothing but the best for everyone involved.

Tonight, the crew was scheduled to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral. Mom was visiting at the time, so we planned a trip to the beach, followed by dinner out afterwards. We drove up to Cherie Down Park and walked out onto the boardwalk. Andrew followed the re-entry progress on the SpaceX YouTube broadcast while we waited for the Crew Dragon to pass overhead. Somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico, the capsule entered the seven minute blackout period where communication with the crew is not possible.

When communication returned, we knew that the capsule should pass overhead at any minute. The sky was cloudy, but there was a nice blue patch directly above us. By this time, a small crowd had joined us on the boardwalk and many more people on the beach were looking up. And then we heard it; the twin sonic booms. The broadcast announced that the drogue chutes had opened, followed by the main chutes, then finally splash down. Unfortunately we couldn’t see any of that, but we did get to hear the booms.

Florida Staycation: The Rest of the Week

Now that we had our place for the week, it was time to find things to do. On Sunday, we decided to drive up International Drive and see what changed since the last time we were there. We started at the south end and headed north. We passed by the WorldMark, where we stayed when we first moved to Florida. We passed by SeaWorld, where we once had a season pass. We passed by the Convention Center, where we attended the Model Railroad Association show one year. We passed the upside down building known as Wonder Works. We passed the Orlando Wheel, which I still haven’t rode yet. Eventually, we ended up near Universal Studios, which I haven’t visited yet.

About that time, it started raining, so we headed south, back towards the condo and the Farmer’s Market in Celebration. On the way, we realized that it would be closed by the time we arrived, so we detoured to Disney Springs.

Star Wars characters outside Lego store

Frozen characters outside the Lego store

In Disney Springs, we walked around, looking for a good place to eat. One thought was T-Rex, which we visited years ago when family was in town. Instead, we went to a burger place. After eating, we continued walking around and passed by the Lego store, where they had Star Wars characters and Frozen characters outside.

Then we decided to catch a bus and go explore some of the free Disney attractions. We got off the bus at the Polynesian and got a pineapple Dole Whip ice cream to share. Then we rode a boat to the Magic Kingdom and caught the monorail to the Contemporary. From there, we wanted to catch a boat to the Wilderness Lodge, but the boat was out of service. Instead, we got back on the monorail to the transportation center and took the other monorail around Epcot Center and back. Then we took a boat back to the Magic Kingdom and caught a bus to the Pop Century. Finally, we caught a bus back to Disney Springs. From there, we headed back to the condo.

Back at the condo, I packed some of my things, then headed home. I had a Monday morning meeting that I needed to attend virtually, but from home. On the way, I realized that I left everything that I had packed. Luckily, I had everything I needed at home.

Monday, I dialed into work and attended the meeting. After work, I packed my work computer and headed back to the condo. Once there, we went for a walk around Old Town and Fun Spot. On the walk, we passed by a Shoney’s, so I stepped inside and asked about strawberry pie. They had pies, but I resisted, for the moment. On our way back to the condo, the skies opened and the rain came down hard and fast. Andrew looked at a weather app on his phone and it was clear that this wasn’t going to end soon. We had no choice but to run from one covered sidewalk to the next. By the time we made our way as close as we could get, the rain finally let up. We were able to run to our resort and then from entry to entry until we finally got to our building.

Tuesday, I set up the work computer and dialed in. Then I realized that I was missing my power cable. Susan and Andrew were planning to go back to Melbourne for Physics class, so once my battery was down to 10%, we all went home, a little earlier than planned. I continued working from home while they went to class. After work, we all went back to the condo.

Wednesday, Andrew was amped to watch the Space X launch of the Inspiration4 crew from Cape Canaveral. We had watched the first two episodes of the Netflix special about the crew the previous night, so we felt like we kind of knew half the crew. We headed east about two hours before the launch, only to find that there were two wrecks along our route, including a road closure. Luckily, the GPS directed us around the crashes and back-ups and we arrived in Titusville about 30 minutes before T Zero. You can read more about the launch in another blog post.

Friday was my off day, but I decided to dial in to work and help my teammate with a feature he was struggling with. Our week ended Saturday, but we decided to leave on Friday night because we had to be at Kennedy Space Center at 6:00 AM Saturday for the Gateway To Space 5K race. On the way out, I tried to stop at Shoney’s to grab a pie, but was confronted with a one way street that went the wrong way. Maybe next time.

To summarize, we didn’t have much time to play, but it was still fun being away from home all week. Several times during the week, I chuckled as I looked around the condo. I was working at the dining room table on my work computer while Susan and Andrew were busy at the kitchen bar, each with their own computer. This could look pretty strange to some, but pretty normal for us. With me working virtually and Andrew in home school, we can do our thing from nearly anywhere that Wi-Fi is available.

Gateway To Space

Last year, I signed up for the 5th annual Gateway To Space 10K race, which is ran on the old Space Shuttle landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center. Due to COVID issues, the race was postponed from early March to today.

After completing the Space Coast Half Marathon in late November 2020, I was ready to take a break from running. I figured I would run a little here and there in December, then get focused again to prepare for this race. But then the race was postponed. Along with it went my motivation to start running again. As winter turned to spring, then summer arrived, getting outside and running in the increasing humidity gets harder to do. I managed a few runs, but nothing consistent.

About eight weeks ago, I created a training plan on my Garmin watch and started running three days a week. The initial runs were pretty simple. For example, walk five minutes, then run one minute; repeat three times. No problem. The following week, the run time was upped to two minutes. This was more difficult, but not too bad. Then it upped to three minutes, then five minutes, then seven minutes. Each of these increases was too difficult for me to achieve. Meanwhile, both Andrew and Susan got sick, so I was left to run on my own. Let me tell you, it is a lot easier to run when you have partners to hold you accountable.

The weekend of the race arrived and I knew I wasn’t ready to run a 10K race; not by a long shot. I thought, well maybe I can switch to the 5K race and walk it with Susan and Andrew. So, that became the plan. We stopped at The Running Zone last night and picked up our packages, which included a T-shirt and a number. We were ready to go.

This morning, the alarm went off at 4:30 AM and we started getting ready. I took a shower, got dressed, and had a protein shake and a snack bar. Once Susan and Andrew were ready, we drove to the Kennedy Space Center in the dark. We arrived at 6:00. We would have been a little sooner, but there was no routing information for how to get from the entrance to the main parking lot. It seemed like every possible option was either blocked by cones or was one way the other way. Finally, I ended up going down a one way road the wrong way, then zig zagged between some poles. Sometimes you need to improvise. So much for being a positive role model for my son, who will soon be learning to drive.

We boarded a NASA bus and rode to the landing strip. The race was scheduled to start at 8:00, so we had a bit of time to kill. We explored the area, watched the sun rise, stretched, explored some more; you get the idea. During this time, I found a race official and asked if I could switch from the 10K to the 5K. She noted my bib number and said she’d take care of it.

Around 7:30, the announcer got on the PA and started talking about the plans for the race. Then she handed the microphone to a trainer, who led the crowd in a big, group stretch. And then they played the National Anthem and we lined up to start the race.

The race started a minute or two after 8:00. It was still relatively cool, with a nice breeze blowing from the North. We ran a little, then walked a little. I created mini challenges, like run to the next 500 foot runway marker. We continued this to the turnaround point, then turned back toward the finish line. By now, it was getting pretty warm and the nice cool breeze was gone. We continued the mini challenges all the way down the runway. Finally, we turned onto the taxiway toward the finish line. I wanted to run the final tenth mile, and Andrew joined me. As we neared the finish line, a group of three people were in front of us, so I slowed down so I could allow the photographer to get a clear picture of us. Andrew did not slow down. So, for the first time, Andrew completed the race ahead of me.

Mystery boxes leaving the on ramp

After the race, we got our medals, grabbed a water bottle and a snack, then waited for the buses to start taking racers back to the parking lot. We climbed aboard the second bus and started our ride back. About the time we would normally get on the main road, we were greeted by NASA police. They said that we couldn’t continue up the on ramp. The driver, after a brief discussion, told us that KSC is an active space launch facility and things are always happening. The new plan was to take a more scenic route around the facilities while the wide loads used the ramp. As a result, we got to see some things that no other tour group gets to see. When we returned to the ramp, we saw two wide loads. The first looked to me like a box containing a UFO. The second clearly belonged to Blue Origin. Who knows what they actually contained.

David, Susan, and the new Delta II rocket

Back at the Visitor Center, Andrew took a picture of me and Susan, standing near the rocket garden, with the latest entry in the frame. NASA recently added the Delta II rocket, which is the second rocket from the right.

Florida Staycation: Getting There

In February 2020, we were on a ski vacation at WorldMark’s Seventh Mountain Resort in Bend, Oregon. While there, we let the sales office talk us into listening to their sales pitch. In return, we received a certificate for a week at any RCI resort. Since Mom was with us and listened to the pitch, she also received a certificate. Later, Mom gave us her certificate to use, knowing that we would likely invite her along. :-)

We used our certificate to go to Hope, Idaho in February 2021. This Spring, Mom’s certificate was nearing its expiration date and we had no plans to travel at the time, so we spent $75 to extend it for another three months. Three months later turned out to be September 7, 2021.

On September 6, Susan remembered that the certificate was about to expire. On the 7th, we all gathered around a computer and started looking at resort options. The choices were very limited for the timeframe we had in mind, with only about a dozen real possibilities. We narrowed the choice down to just those in Florida because I didn’t want to take the extra time off work. Eventually, we narrowed the choices down to two resorts in Kissimmee. One of the two charged nearly $20 a day to access the resort amenities, regardless of whether or not you actually used them. That resort was immediately ruled out.

We ended up booking the Barefoot Suites from September 11 to September 18. Check-in was at 4:00 today, so we were in no rush to leave home, for a change. No early morning flight to catch for this one.

Around 5:00, we finished packing the car and were on our way. We arrived at the resort around 6:00. When we went inside to check in, we were told that we did not have a reservation. Susan showed the attendant the email that she received from RCI, but he said there was nothing he could do. He suggested that she call RCI to work it out. Susan looked up the number for RCI and found that they close at 6:00. It was now 6:15.

At this point, I was considering driving back home. I was thinking, “What if we had just flown across the country to get here? Have we been scammed?” Meanwhile, Susan left a message on the RCI after hours line. We decided to drive around town instead of sitting and waiting for a return call.

If you know me at all, you can probably guess where I decided to go. Andrew looked at the Amtrak web page and found that the next train was scheduled to arrive at 6:45. If we hurried, or more likely, if it was late, we could beat the train to the station. While on the way, we passed the Kissimmee Airport, so I quickly pulled in so I could check in with my AOPA Passport app. Back on the route, we made it to the Amtrak station before the train arrived.

Meanwhile, the RCI after hours operator called Susan and Susan explained what had just happened. The operator called Barefoot Suites and a long conversation ensued. I started driving back towards the resort. On the way, Susan announced that everything was resolved and our reservation was confirmed.

Back at the resort, the attendant still had a problem finding our reservation. This time, he called his supervisor. Eventually, his supervisor straightened him out. Turns out our booking was less than a week ago and it usually takes a week for the reservation to work its way through the system. We finally were checked in and got the card keys for room 233C. We were given directions to the six story building down the road, on the right. We found the building, parked, grabbed our things, and headed for the elevator. Given our room number, I expected to take the elevator to the second floor. But the sign near the elevator said that rooms 211C – 213D were on the first floor. What? How can rooms in the 200 range be on the first floor? At that very moment, the guy who checked us in walked out of the elevator. We described our confusion to him and asked what floor our room was on. Turns out the second digit of the number is the floor, so our room was on the third floor. On the third floor, we expected to find 233A, B, C, and D, but A and B were nowhere to be found. Turns out the A and B units are in a different building. Who came up with this crazy numbering scheme?

By this time, we were all very hungry. This part of US route 192 is littered with food establishments. We looked for a place that was close by and found The Pizza Press. It looked interesting and had a gluten free menu, so we drove the five minutes to Celebration. Usually I wouldn’t go on about a pizza joint, but this place is special. It is set up like a Subway. You start at one end, pick your dough, then your sauce, then your toppings. All of the toppings are set out in front of you to choose from. Pick as many or as few, as little or as much as you'd like; the price is the same. After a quick trip through the oven, you have options for additional toppings, then drinks. They have over 30 beers on tap, along with the common soda options. The pizza Andrew and I ordered came out perfect, with all the toppings tasting fresher than one would expect from a typical pizza place.

Thanks to the help of the RCI agent and the fantastic pizza experience, what looked to be a terrible ordeal turned out great. We are checked in, unpacked, and our stomachs are satisfied. We are looking forward to the rest of the week.

The End of an Era

Today marked the end of an era in my life. After serving for over 21 years, I sold my Honda CR-V.

Back in 2000, I was in the market for a new SUV. I had the 1991 Chevy Blazer at the time and I was not happy with it. It was involved in two rear-end collisions that left it slightly out of alignment, and I had an issue where a local mechanic installed a differential gear with the wrong number of ‘teeth’, which caused lots of problems and months to resolve.

At that time, Honda had recently added the CR-V to its lineup. It was smaller than the other choices on the market and that was a plus to me. I thought about it, read about it, maybe even dreamed about it (probably more about getting rid of the Blazer).

In early July, Susan and I went to Kirkland Honda with the intent to buy a CR-V. We took a test drive, liked it, and stared the purchase process. The dealer had several vehicles on the lot, so we had to choose either the LX or the EX, and choose a color. I fell in love with the Clover Green Pearl, so that part was easy. I went for the LX with the idea that I could add the options that I wanted rather than getting all the options on the more expensive EX. So when the time came to select the options, I went overboard. The paperwork provided space for maybe four options. My option list quickly filled the available space, then extended into the margins. Here’s a few of the options I selected: Towing package, Mud flaps, Roof rack, Speaker upgrade, and Ski racks. We drove the CR-V home that day and it became part of the family.

Looking good after a washing; Bothell, WA

Early in 2001, I decided that I really wanted a moon roof. In my opinion, all cars should have them. Especially in Seattle, where so much of the environment is above you, you need to be able to see up. I found a place that would add the aftermarket roof and had it installed.

New moonroof installed; Bothell WA

One of my favorite activities was to go exploring in the mountains. This was especially true in late fall, after a summer of sunshine and gorgeous days, I was always ready to go find the snow.

Enjoying the snow; Snoqualmie Pass, WA

Finding the snow sometimes meant driving to Eastern Washington, where the skies are more likely to be clear.

Dirty winter driving; Eastern WA

Another winter adventure; Leavenworth, WA

Every now and then, Seattle drops below freezing.

Frosty morning; Bothell, WA

On one of our Christmas visits to Virginia, we ran into snow. By the time we arrived, there was over a foot of snow on the ground. The locals were terrified, but we had no issues in the CR-V.

Winter wonderland; Rockville, VA

In 2008, we decided to move to Florida. We sold our car, rented a small U-Haul trailer, and drove the CR-V to Florida. If I remember correctly, it was about this time that we rolled over 100,000 miles.

In Florida, we gave up (mostly) our winter sports and bought kayaks. The CR-V became the kayak hauler.

Kayak hauler; Melbourne, FL

Local kayak trip; Melbourne, FL

Local kayak trip; Melbourne, FL

In 2014, we took the CR-V to Jackson, Wyoming to visit Grand Tetons National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Everyday included a long drive through the parks. On our way home, we rolled over 200,000 miles.

Rolling over 200,000 miles; Somewhere, WY

In Washington, we had a small trailer for hauling things that wouldn’t fit inside the CR-V. We sold it to a neighbor before moving. In Florida, we bought another trailer and used it in a similar fashion.

Hauling kayaks on our trailer, Melbourne, FL

In 2016, we bought a pop-up camper. It was about at the limit of the capability of the CR-V. I was very concerned about pulling the camper through the mountains on our first trip to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Because of this, we eventually bought a Chevy Colorado, but we still kept the CR-V.

Pulling our pop-up camper; Melbourne, FL

My dream for the CR-V was to see it roll past 250,000 miles and eventually give it to Andrew. This Spring, however, I started having some issues with it. When first driving it when it was cold, it would sometimes stall when stopping at a traffic signal. Avoiding this required a complicated maneuver that involved hitting the brake and gas simultaneously with my right foot while holding the clutch with my left foot. This Summer, the check engine light came on and stayed on. I took the CR-V to the dealer to have it fixed. After two back to back visits, the dealer told me that there was a problem with the compression and the computer was detecting a difference. Therefore, the check engine light would always stay on. He also told me that it wasn’t a concern, unless it started flashing.

Last Friday, while driving to the Orlando airport, the light started flashing. Andrew looked up the conditions that could cause a flashing light and they weren’t good. One of them was a misfiring in the cylinders. It was clear by the roughness of the engine that it was not firing properly, but we were able to get to the airport without incident.

Over the weekend and on the flight home, we discussed what we should do about the CR-V. It was Labor Day and no mechanics would be open. We did not want to drive an hour home and risk a total failure. So we decided to go car shopping. We test drove four or five cars and finally made a decision. The dealer gave us $500 in trade for the CR-V. We transferred all of our stuff to the new car and said our good-byes.

Final good-bye; Orlando, FL

The CR-V gave us 21 years of reliable service and 245,241 miles of adventures. We will miss the CR-V and always remember the fun we had together.