Day 6 – Wondering what bit my ear, and Rocketships
Location: Brunswick, GA
Miles Driven: 289.5
Total Miles: 1694.8
Spent the early morning lounging about with Tim for a bit…it was great to sit back and talk with an old friend for a while. Also enjoyed an early morning free from a weird sensation in my left ear. I think I was stung by something in Clearwater, as my ear got itchy and a little swollen over the next few days. But some ice on it the night prior seemed to help alleviate the strange feeling.
Eventually got ready to head out towards the Cape, a 45 minute drive from us. Earlier in the week, Tim had told me there was a planned rocket launch for this exact day – Friday, June 4. As I mentioned in the last post, the timing seemed to be good to be true…I hadn’t adjusted my plans at all for any kind of rockets. Last I checked several months ago, the next shuttle launch isn’t until the fall (one of the last few remaining). So to find out there was a rocket launch planned for the same day I was planning to be near the Cape was quite “serendipitious” as my friends Nate and Melissa described. The weather would play a big role in whether the rocket launch went up or not, and I’ve seen rain all over the state (along with some bad storms), so I was cautiously optimistic.
I followed Tim towards the Cape, and being the astronomy/space exploration nerd that I am, got some chills getting closer and closer, especially as I saw signs for the Kennedy Space Center.
Too cool
We headed in the direction of Cocoa Beach. I had considered going to the Space Center to get a tour, but the admission is somewhat pricey, and I would only have a limited time there if I wanted to keep myself available during the launch window, which was 11AM – 3PM.
Arrived in the Cocoa Beach area not long after 9AM, and Tim showed me some of his favorite areas of the beach. Got a bunch of walking in as we made a big loop, exploring a big pier in-between.
Cocoa Beach
I kept a nervous eye on the sky – it wasn’t overcast, but there were a lot of thick clouds. At the same time I was checking status updates of the launch online via my phone. At 9:30AM it was reported the “90 minute countdown” had started, so things were looking positive so far.
Tim getting the sand off his feet, and struggling with the spigot
Around 10:30AM we were making our way back to the cars. Tim knew a good spot to view the launch from – Cape Canaveral Lock – so we drove there and arrived with about 10 minutes to spare. Before I get further in the story, a note about this launch: this rocket, the Falcon 9, was built by SpaceX, a private firm. SpaceX also developed the Dragon spacecraft, which is planned to be supply craft (eventually with the capability to ferry people) for the International Space Station, after all the space shuttles are officially retired. It took SpaceX $400M to reach this point, and this planned rocket launch was only a test – the rocket held a mock-up of the Dragon spacecraft.
Turned out no rush was necessary a some folks already on a bench, waiting for the launch themselves, and said they heard 11:20 was the updated launch time. We all waited anxiously, trying to learn whatever updates we could from one another. Checking the spaceflightnow.com website, I found the following message:
1505 GMT (11:05 a.m. EDT)T-minus 15 minutes and holding. The launch has been delayed, but there is no explanation from SpaceX.
Ok, no luck right away, we felt. But remember, the launch window was from 11AM – 3PM, so an early delay wouldn’t necessarily preclude liftoff. So I was continually refreshing the website on my phone, hoping to see if there were any more details as we sat there. The next meaningful message was:
1538 GMT (11:38 a.m. EDT)The Air Force Eastern Range is reviewing signals from the Falcon 9’s flight termination system to ensure the destruct package can work as advertised.
“Ok, they’re just being very cautious,” we were saying to ourselves. The story was this launch was somewhat experimental in nature, so the ability to self-destruct the rocket if something went awry was absolutely necessary. No problem, understood. Then the next message:
1604 GMT (12:06 p.m. EDT)SpaceX says they have a “path forward” for launching at 1 p.m. EDT, and possibly earlier if they can resolve the flight termination system connectivity issues soon.
For some at the Lock, 1PM was not a convenient time to catch the launch. This included Tim who had to go to work for a bit. As for me, I had no rush to be anywhere, so I figured I could wait it out. Tim and I parted ways, and I figured I’d squeeze in a nap in the car and get back out in time for the new 1PM launch time. I have a nice little nap, get my supplies back out (camera, binoculars), and then make my way to the bench once again. I get settled, and then decide to check the status online:
1647 GMT (12:47 p.m. EDT)The range went red just before the countdown was supposed to resume. The reason is unknown.
I didn’t know exactly what was meant by all this, but I do know from my four years of government contracting that red = bad. So no countdown yet, and I was sitting there, continually refreshing the website to see what was going on.
1705 GMT (1:05 p.m. EDT)Air Force helicopters are intercepting a sailboat off the coast of Florida that strayed into the danger area.
Silly boaters! Get outta there! Frustrating, but not a big deal, as I figured the Air Force would get the sailboat going in the other direction and the countdown could start once again. The next message got me thinking more and more that the launch was really going to happen:
1715 GMT (1:15 p.m. EDT)T-minus 15 minutes and counting! After overcoming an issue with the Falcon 9’s destruct system, and clearing a sailboat out of the ocean danger zone, the countdown clock has picked up for launch at 1:30 p.m. EDT
Now I was getting pumped. The launch window was to cut off at 3pm, so this might be one of the last few chances to organize a full countdown and get things going again. And I was getting more and more anxious as the next few status updates appeared:
1724 GMT (1:24 p.m. EDT)T-minus 6 minutes and counting. Launch remains set for 1:30 p.m. EDT.
1727 GMT (1:27 p.m. EDT)T-minus 3 minutes. The ground safety officer will soon enable ignition. All systems remain “go” for launch, according to SpaceX.
1728 GMT (1:28 p.m. EDT)T-minus 2 minutes. Range has given their final clear for launch.
Woohoo! Here we go, right??
1729 GMT (1:29 p.m. EDT)T-minus 60 seconds. In the final minute of the countdown, the relief valve on the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage will be closed and the propellant tanks will be pressurized for flight. The Merlin main engines will ignite beginning at approximately T-minus 3.5 seconds.
Now it’s going to happen, I’m sure of it. I’m looking forward to seeing the bright flash of the engines igniting. But 1:30 came, and no bright flash. Then 1:31…1:32…still nothing. I check for an update:
1730 GMT (1:30 p.m. EDT)ABORT! The countdown was stopped a few seconds before launch.
Bummer. My confidence in this launch happening was waning just as the launch window was waning. I hung around for the next several minutes to see if I could get any news.
1736 GMT (1:36 p.m. EDT)SpaceX can recycle the countdown and try again during today’s launch window, if they can resolve whatever problem triggered this abort. The window extends until 3 p.m. EDT.
All right. At this point I wasn’t sure if I should give up, or if I should stick it out. It was very hot out, and I was getting a little hungry. The following status updates didn’t help me decide one way or another:
1744 GMT (1:44 p.m. EDT)We are still waiting on word about the cause of the countdown abort and whether SpaceX will make another attempt today.
1748 GMT (1:48 p.m. EDT)The countdown is back at T-minus 15 minutes and holding.
1759 GMT (1:59 p.m. EDT)SpaceX will try to set up for another launch attempt this afternoon. There’s a little over an hour left in today’s launch window. The launch try at 1:30 p.m. EDT was cut off because an engine parameter fell out of limits.
I went back to my car to take a break and cool off with the A/C. Over and over, I was refreshing the website to get updates, but didn’t get one until over 20 minutes later:
1822 GMT (2:22 p.m. EDT)SpaceX confirms the new target launch time is 2:45 p.m. EDT. The countdown should resume in eight minutes.
All right, now we’re talking. This would definitely be the last chance for launch today. If it didn’t happen, I’d be out of luck, as I wanted to head North in the late afternoon.
Talked with Tim via text and since his work site was close by, he drove down to join me to wait out this final countdown. We went over to a graddy area and joined a family equipped with big binoculars, video cameras, and watches.
1835 GMT (2:35 p.m. EDT)T-minus 10 minutes and counting. The terminal countdown has started and the rocket’s propellant prevalves have been opened to flow liquid oxygen into the first stage’s nine Merlin engines.
A few minutes later and I am reminded of the harsh realities of launching:
1840 GMT (2:40 p.m. EDT)T-minus 5 minutes and counting. Computers are controlling the launch countdown within the last 10 minutes to liftoff. Any issue now would trigger another hold and likely a scrub today.
At this point, I couldn’t get any more status updates from the website. I presumed the site was overloaded with visitors, but one of the men in the family we joined had a countdown of his own going. Their kids were hoping for some kind of explosion – not wanting the mission to fail, but in the hopes of seeing something spectacular. I gave Tim my binoculars, got my camera ready, and hoped for the best.
And then, the payoff:
My apologies for the shaky video, I couldn’t view the LCD of my camera in the sun’s glare, so I was practically guessing where to aim the lens. You can get a slight hint of the noise this thing generated after the 0:30 point. Also, pay close attention at the 0:43 mark, as you’ll see a flash as another stage fires and the rocket picks up more speed.
Success! Though we were several miles away, the noise generated by the rocket was pretty powerful. And the rocket sure moved fast – within about a minute, it was gone from view. But what a shot in the arm for the private space industry! I later learned the rocket did achieve orbital insertion and this test launch was a success. I’m glad I stuck it out.
If you want to see better video of the launch, go here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/04/spacex.rocket.test/index.html?hpt=T2
So after almost four hours of waiting I saw the launch, and now it was time to leave the Lock. Grabbed a bite to eat, did some work on the computer, and eventually got on I-95 as the journey turns northward for almost the remainder of this month.
I’m now sitting at a “Flying J” truck stop about 80 miles south of Savannah. Planning to arrive in Savannah by late morning, and some friends who have recently visited gave me a couple recommendations of things to check out. Looking forward to seeing such a historic place.
Despite some sunburns, it was another great day. To think of the lucky timing I had to catch that launch – a launch that was moved to today because an unrelated launch was postponed earlier, at the only time I’ve ever been to Cape Canaveral, and at a time that synched perfectly with my Florida portion of the roadtrip. Indeed…serendipitious.
The end of a great time in Florida
joe
Day 5
Location: Orlando,FL
Miles Driven: 127.8
Cumulative Miles Driven: 1405.3
Although Maria had to leave for work around 7AM, she generously offered me her apartment as long as I wanted it – be it to sleep, do work on the website, workout, etc. So after we said our goodbyes, I laid down on her comfortable couch with the intent to nap for a little bit. I set the alarm for 8:30 with the goal of hitting the road by 9 or so. I must’ve been more tired than I thought, because at some point I shut off the alarm and did not end up waking until 9:30. Oh well, I figured, not like I’m late for my job or something.
So I was able to get driving shortly after 10:30AM and set a path for DisneyWorld. It was not a bad drive at all, maybe an hour and 20 minutes passed before I saw signs directing me to the Magic Kingdom.
The Entrance
At the Magic Kingdom, I met my brother’s (and our family’s) friend Andrew, and he provided me with a guest pass for all of the DisneyWorld parks. Pretty amazing thing, especially considering I had never been to any of them.
So I began to explore the Magic Kingdom area and definitely noticed it was a pretty intense atmosphere. Within 10 minutes of being there, a parade was kicking off with dancers, men on stilts, and people dressed as famous Disney characters. Loud music, lots of smiling, waving, and jumping up and down by the performers. I found it to be pretty overwhelming, but the kids in the park were digging it.
Parade on Main Street
Eventually the parade reached a mini traffic circle in front of the Disney castle and the performers set up shop in the street. More Disney characters were appearing out of nowhere, and they would play the characters’ voices over the loudspeaker – Sebastian the Crab, that candle guy from Beauty and the Beast, and the Genie from Aladdin. Soon park guests were in the street dancing along with the characters.
Disney castle
Woody from Toy Story
And as soon as it started, the parade had gone back in the direction it started and the streets were clear once again. Everything seemed just to be run so efficiently – park staff clears the streets, ropes are set up, the parade comes along, and then it everything happens in reverse and the performers are gone. What a well-oiled machine.
Checked out the different stores and shops along Main Street, and found a store that specialized in Disney art. I’m not a big art person, but there were some very cool paintings:
Winnie the Pooh
The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland
The Little Mermaid
Caught a show along Main Street – the “Dapper Dans”, a barbershop quartet. They performed a quick 20 minute performance with a number of songs. Definitely a lot of fun.
After the performance, I walked around the different areas of Magic Kingdom – one was Fantasyland, another was Adventureland. In Fantasyland I was happy to find one of my favorite Disney characters, Buzz Lightyear.
To infinity....and beyond!
And do you remember these little guys from Toy Story? “Farewell my friends, I go on to a better place.” (as he gets picked up by the toy claw grabber)
Toys at Pizza Planet
A lot of the rides that seemed interesting had long wait times, unfortunately, but that’s ok – I’m not a big rides/amusement park guy. I did hop on a “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride that takes you in these dark caverns in a little boat and you see animatronic pirates talking. There were a couple animatronic Captain Jack Sparrows, and the resemblance to Johnny Depp was uncanny.
The Epcot area of DisneyWorld was recommended to me by a couple people so I left Magic Kingdom and made my way over on the monorail. As I arrived at the big golf-ball looking thing, it started to rain. At first, it wasn’t anything bad, then soon it turned into quite the thunderstorm – driving rains, strong winds, and lightning. I hunkered down in a souveneir store. It took probably a good 50 minutes or so for the storm to dissapate.
After the rain let up a bit, I took a stroll around Epcot where there were little areas dedicated to different countries. Each area had buildings, shops and restaurants that (supposedly) resemeble their respective cultures: Beijing’s Forbidden City, a German beerhouse, Aztec pyramids (small scale) in the Mexico section, etc. It was pretty cool, though I was concerned if some Americans at DisneyWorld took these representations of cultures as 100% factual.
The German section (Frank - is this accurate?)
View from Japan section of Epcot
I had plans to meet friends at 6pm, so around 5 I was fixin to go (I love that southern saying), and I also had enough of the steady rain. Hopefully if I return to DisneyWorld it can be on a dry day. Not that I should complain, but Sunshine State my ass. Everywhere I’ve gone to in Florida the rain has followed me. Maybe I’m just bad luck. Then again, I heard June rain here is quite common. No worries.
So met my friends Tim, Susan, and Tony at a restaurant called “Gators.” I know Tim and Susan from my time working in Rockville, MD, and I know Tony through our job program when I met him at a conference last August. All great folks. I actually went to school at Binghamton University the same time as Tim, but we didn’t know each other then.
Me, Tim, Susan, Tony
Tony and Susan both work in Orlando, and Tim works out on Cape Canaveral. So the plan for Friday will be to join Tim out on the Cape, as there is a rocket launch planned (what lucky timing for me, eh?). The weather forecast doesn’t look too optimistic, however, but it’ll be cool to be out there all the same.
After dinner, headed over to Susan’s, watched some of the Lakers/Celtics game (what a disappointing outcome), and eventually crashed. Another great day in the books – new experience (Disney), and met up with some great friends once again.
joe
Day 4
Location: Tampa, FL
Miles Driven: 315.5
Cumulative Miles Driven: 1277.5
Never saw a sign like this before…
Be on the lookout for bear crossings near St. George's Island
All right, 1,000 miles in the books! These first thousand miles have been an amazing experience…let’s hope it keeps going for the several thousand miles remaining.
So this morning I awoke shortly after 7am and continued along Highway 98 with the plan to get to my friend Maria’s apartment in Tampa. Specifically, I needed to cover about 230 miles on one highway. Now that was a haul. A rare treat is when I actually had to turn the car in some direction. But there were certainly some scenic stretches along the route; driving so close to the Gulf was particularly enjoyable.
A view of Hwy 98
Encountered my first tolls of this trip on this leg of the journey on FL route 589. They were cheap, but there were several of them. I remember from a work recruiting trip to FL back in November that there were lots of tolls. I have a large bag of coins near the front seat for such occasions. It seems the Northeast and FL are big on tolls, but my bag of coins should last me well through both regions.
After a couple pit stops and a nap, made it to Tampa shortly before 3pm. Since Maria wouldn’t be getting out of work til after 4, I figured I’d find a local park to get a workout in. Stopped at the Citrus Park (I think it was called), but it was a little shady looking. Lots of unused baseball fields, some worn down accommodations, and not a soul in sight. Like a baseball ghost town. Anyway, was perfect for me and I had a grassy area to myself to exercise.
Met Maria at her apartment not long after, and she was an amazing host from the first second I stepped in the door. Maria fed me some fresh fruit and water, let me use her shower to clean up, and showed me to the guestroom. She has a really nice apartment – feels more like a house than an apartment, in fact. We had plans to meet up with some friends for dinner, but had some time beforehand to sit and chat. I hadn’t seen Maria since Christmas back in NY. She’s originally from my hometown, we worked in Owego, NY at the same time, and also belonged to the same rotational program (OLDP) at Lockheed.
Went to the Courtside Grill to meet up with Dan and Rich, two guys I got to know in November during that recruiting trip to Orlando. Both are from NY, Rich is a current OLDP participant like Maria, and Dan graduated from the same rotational program a few years back. Also, Dan went to the same high school as Maria so the three of us have many mutual friends.
Maria, Rich, Me, and Dan
Rich and Dan are two guys who really helped me out during a hectic period when we were in Orlando for recruiting last year. Now it was time to relax, tell some stories, share some laughs, and see what’s up ahead for everyone. After dinner came back to Maria’s to relax. Maria kindly let me use her washer and dryer and also gave me some gatorade, so when I load the car up in the AM I’ll be fully stocked on clean clothes and refreshments. Watched a little TV, and for the first time I saw the show “Man vs. Food” (I guess I’m slow to the uptake on this one). Many people have suggested I try similar things the host does in conquering giant meals at various restaurants across the country. In this episode, he had to eat this layered ice cream thing that looked as big as a human torso, and then later, in Hawaii, he was challenged to eat four pounds of pancakes in one sitting. Ughhh. I think he finished off the ice cream, but was unable to eat all of those pancakes. Fortunately, I’m trying to keep things frugal on this trip so I will probably not be going after the same challenges the host of “Man vs. Food” does, and perhaps I’ll save myself a heart attack or two in the process.
Tomorrow will be a nice break from driving as I only have about 85 miles to go to my next destination – Orlando. In Orlando, I’ll meet up with my brother’s friend Andrew (he is a performer at Disneyland), see some of the park (never been there before), and meet up with some friends who live in that area.
Thanks again to Maria for hosting this vagabond.
joe
P.S. Thanks for all the well-wishes and support from the readers out there. Today was a record day in the brief history of this website – 216 hits. Incredible. I’m glad people are finding it interesting…hopefully I can maintain that interest through the end of the summer.
Day 3
Location: Port St. Joe, FL
Miles Driven: 348.8
Cumulative Miles Driven: 962
Left New Orleans shortly before noon and headed east on I-10 in the direction of Florida. It was a nice drive for the most part, but once again I encountered some rain. At one point it got so bad I had to pull over and wait for the downpour to cease.
Ominous looking clouds ahead
Later in the afternoon I crossed the Alabama/Florida border and made a pit stop at the FL Welcome Center.
FL Welcome Center with Blue Angel model
Eventually I reached the Pensacola area and was treated to some nice views of the bay, where there were a number of people out fishing. I took a seat on a bench and relaxed enjoying the breeze coming off the water.
Pensacola Bay
Big fish. The guy who caught it told me it took an hour to haul ashore.
I continued east along Highway 98 which ran right along the Gulf coast. Got an oil change done (the first of many) in the city of Gulf Breeze. Not far from there were a number of easily accessible beaches, and I made my way to Navarre Beach, took off the shoes, and spent some time walking along the nice white sand. For a little while I walked along the shore, and I don’t think I ever felt ocean water that was as comfortable as that.
Navarre Beach, FL
On the beach
Got back in the car a while later and continued east. As it got dark, I realized the skies were pretty clear and I thought I might have a chance to pull out my camera later, and I was able to do just that around midnight. Found a public beach not far from the road and took the camera and tripod out. Had to battle some lights from a resort area and a waning gibbous moon, but was still able to capture a good amount of stars.
Now it’s time to sleep. Tomorrow I have roughly six hours of driving ahead of me, as I make my way to Clearwater, FL to visit with some friends. Here’s hoping for a rain-free drive, but I definitely can’t complain…I get to be out here driving instead of working.
joe
Day 2
Location: New Orleans, LA
Miles driven: 102
Woke up around 6:30AM, got a quick stretch in, and shortly thereafter hit the road for New Orleans. It was a fairly short drive, but there was the occasional downpour of rain and a little traffic closer to the city, but nothing too bad. Once I pulled into the French Quarter, the sun was coming out and the streets were drying.
Around 10AM, I found a public parking lot and stepped out to explore. I found New Orleans to be surprisingly easy to get around, at least here in the French Quarter. There wasn’t much traffic, everything of note was in walking-distance, and there was a hint of excitement in the air amongst all the tourists walking about….people going in and out of little boutiques, voodoo shops, and southern eateries. I was expecting to see lingering after-effects of Katrina, but either I’m not observant enough or there aren’t any signs of that in this frequently-visited area of the city (outside of some funky smells along Bourbon St.). Everything was neat and clean that I could see.
I had a hotel reservation for the evening, but couldn’t check in until 4pm, so I figured I had time to wander around until that time. Managed to do a lot of walking, and take in the sights and sounds. One of the first places I came across was Jackson Square in front of the famous St. Louis Cathedral. I had heard about the statue of Andrew Jackson, but it was still pretty impressive seeing it up close.
Andrew Jackson statue in Jackson Square
Andrew Jackson statue and St. Louis Cathedral
I zig-zagged through the different streets and eventually came across a seafood place. People had been telling me to try the crawfish in New Orleans so I ordered that within a minute of sitting down. Only problem, I didn’t even know what crawfish looked like. I’ve had the big shrimp before in Taiwan where you have peel every bit (while the shrimp’s eyes are there looking at you), but never tried crawfish. For $10 I got a basket of the little guys…there were so many of them.
Tasty crawfish
They were a messy challenge, but I managed to eat some of the crawfish from that big bowl. Managed also to squirt some crawfish juice in my eye, and needless to say, that was not very pleasant. Eventually I was working harder for the food than I cared to, so I gave up, paid and bill, and later grabbed a slice of pizza from a nearby place.
Shortly after cleaning myself up from crawfish-eating, I stumbled across a jazz/blues band, with dancers in tow, on Royal St. Very entertaining…both the music and the dancing. Here’s some video:
By the way – does anyone know what that type of dance is called?
I enjoyed staying there listening to the music, but eventually rain came and the band packed up. The rain soon turned into a downpour and I bided my time under awnings as I made my way back towards my car. It would soon be time to check into the hotel.
Took the car to the Prince Conti Hotel (booked it 2am the same day), and found myself in an old-fashioned, but very nice hotel. I’m not planning on staying in many hotels for this trip, but I figured I have a lot of people I can crash with along the East Coast, so I’ll be saving some money in this first stretch of the trip. Plus, the hotel was only $60 plus tax.
Got to relax for a long while…took a nap, did a workout, and then around 10pm I headed out to see the New Orleans nightlife. I told myself I’d stop in the first jazz club I come across playing live music. I found one within a few minutes of walking, just a block away. It was an amazing band – one guitarist/singer, one keyboardist, one drummer, and three brass. There was dancing, too. Soon enough I got involved dancing with some foreigners – three girls from Australia and one from New Zealand. Spent a good time chatting and learned they were on a roadtrip of their own, taking two months, I think, to work their way in a van from the West to East coast, with the final destination being New York City. I was amazed at the number of National Parks they had visited. Sally, the Kiwi, knew more about some parks out west than many Americans. She mentioned wanting to go to Crater Lake (my favorite park), but in April the roads were closed because of snow. However, she spoke very highly of the Utah parks (oftentimes overshadowed by the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite), and I was able to get a couple of recommendations for hikes and things to check out. Sally also said she had hiked the Angels Landing Trail at Zion National Park, which I had done in 2005, and we shared stories from that and other hikes we’ve done/parks we’ve visited.
The fun night ended and here we are on Day 3 of the trip. I just ordered some beignets which is a type of French donut. Pretty tasty, and very filling. At the beignet shop I could only order a set of three, so I’ll be looking for some hotel staff to help me out with the other two.
Beignet
Soon, I’ll check out of the hotel and work my way east towards Florida. It’s a warm day, and it looks like I might get some clear skies, and hopefully I’ll be able to take out the camera tonight and get some star shots.
New Orleans is an amazing city. Glad I came this way.
joe
Trip route – Summer 2010
Joe's Roadtrip 
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