The Space Coast

We made our first stop on the way back to Ohio at Patrick Air Force Base south of Coco Beach. We liked the FamCamp there and they have a wheelchair only site. We snagged it and set up camp.

May 2 We went to the Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce Florida where the original training facility was for the UDT/Frogmen of WW2. https://www.navysealmuseum.org/

On the way back to Patrick AFB we saw this: The van for The Vanilla Ice Project. They are building a new house along the ocean. Vanilla Ice was a rapper back in the nineties (and still is). His biggest hit was Ice Ice Baby. He parlayed his success in the music industry into a remodeling business specializing in high end million dollar homes on Florida's East Coast. He has a show on DIY Channel called The Vanilla Ice Project.

May 3 Patrick has asked to stop at Kennedy Space Center so we could tour the facilities again. This is the second time we have been here as a family and the third for me. Every time we go, there is always something new to see. This time, the Center is in transition from launching the shuttle into facilities for private companies to launch rockets for delivery vehicles, to go back to the moon, and to go to Mars.

 The vehicle assembly building, The flag is 22 stories tall.

This is the new launch platform for NASA's new Space Launch System

 This area was formally the shuttle launch facility. Now it is being converted to the SLS facility.

 This is a good shot of the crawler, the vehicle used to move the rockets from the vehicle assembly area to the launch area. One of the crawler's track links weighs 2000lbs. The crawler was built by Marion Shovel in Marion, Ohio right down the road from where we grew up. The crawler track is the two lanes on the right of the picture. They are as wide as an eight lane freeway and base of the track is seven feet deep to handle the extreme weight of the crawler, launch pad and rocket.

 The Vehicle Assembly Building

 The Saturn Five rocket. one of only three left in existence that were not launched into space. NASA stole the engines out of this one to use on another project.

 Patrick contemplates the enormity of my rocket.

 This was the big addition to the Space Center since we were last here. At that time, the Atlantis was outside. Before we entered the Atlantis area, we were shown a movie, the funneled into a smaller area with a white screen and shown another movie. At the end of the movie the screen turned opaque and we had this view. Then the screen lifted and we were off to explore. It was really well done.

May 4 was a day for Patrick to catch up on school and Becky and I went to the Camping World to get a new light for the trailer. We stopped at the infamous Ron Jon Surf Shop.

  May 5, 6, 7 were spent with our friends in Green Cove Springs.