Lift Off!!

Upon crawling out of bed this morning before my first cup of coffee, Mark said, "Let's go." The morning weather report gave the launch a 50/50 chance of going off. Armed with two chairs, two cameras, and two apples, we headed southeast to Titusville, FL to watch the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis for its mission to the International Space Station. We made the 150 mile trip in 2.5 hours and $10.00 in toll charges. Parking was easy since we were early. We then had to kill 3 hours before the launch time.

After lunch, Mark made a few phone calls to non-retiree friends back home while I sat in my chair in the parking lot. About an hour before launch time we walked up the street and sat in the yard of some restaurant - along with about 200 other people.

This is from our viewing point.

Fortunately a local couple of veteran launch watchers sat down next to us, and were willing to answer all of our questions. These people were all used to these things being scrubbed at the last minute, so no one was really sure if it was a go. We really didn't want to return on Friday afternoon for a rescheduled launch. Because it was an absolutely beautiful day with bright blue sky and just a few puffy clouds, everyone was just sure it would go.

At exactly 2:45EST, we had lift off. Mark had the digital camera and I had the other one with the better zoom. It was fabulous! We just kept snapping pictures, while trying to look with our own eyes. We thought it would be louder, but the locals said the wind was blowing the wrong way.

This was just seconds after liftoff.

And just a few seconds later.

Once I get the film developed and put on a CD, I might post more photos later.

The whole "show" lasted less than a minute. What lasted a whole lot longer was the journey to get out of Titusville, FL. The scenic and toll-free trip back to Orange Lake took 3.5 hours.

While it was a very long way to go, for just a minute of action, it was well worth it! A great day - and we get to check one more item off that life list.