Shuttle Endeavor Lifts our Hearts

Hi everyone, Blondie here

Now and then I get questions from readers that I feel need to be addressed in front of a larger audience. Now, ya'll that know me assume that I will pick the most asinine questions with the nefarious intent on destroying their writers, but I demure. For the sake of my integrity I will only address the correspondents who seem to actually have a brain and will continue to torment the mentally challenged in private.Q: I saw a photo of you recently and you appear to have red hair but you call yourself travelblondie?A: Honey there is something you must learn about women. We change our hair color as often as you change your underwear. I did the red bit on Valentine's day back in February. Red hair color is like a catch 22 situation: you can't live with it, and you can't live without it. It is a very difficult color to maintain and horrific to get rid of. Obviously a single guy must have sent that question cause ya'll married guys know than to ask.

Now back to the subject at hand, travel. Ok this week I am focusing on something much closer to home (and not it's not a Disney review. Get real). This evening at 6:36 PM the space shuttle Endeavor lifted off from Kennedy Space center destined for the international space center. I take it for granted that I can walk out my front door and see the shuttle lift off. I have seen about 5 shuttle lift offs and many satellite launches in my life so it's not new to me. What I did enjoy today was watching others see a lift off for the first time and how awe inspiring it really is. To think that tiny fireball we see in the sky is a man made vessel lifting off for the great unknown. It does nothing but humble you at the thought.

Today was extra special for me and many others watching. It was not just the thrill of sharing the experience of the first shuttle launch for my parents and my assistant but rather 22 years of sadness being lifted off my shoulders. In 1985 spectators on that same stretch of beach I was on saw Christa McAuliffe's lift off in space shuttle Challenger. She was the first teacher in space and thousands of school children all over the USA and the world watched this momentous moment in history. Sadly about 20 seconds into the launch, Challenger broke up in mid air killing all aboard in front of the eyes of so many of my generation.

As I watched today, I held my breath as Endeavor passed the point of the Challenger explosion. I think my breath continued to hold until I was rocked by the sonic boom that follows the lift off about 2 minutes after departure. Barbara Morgan is one of the astronauts aboard. She was Christa McAuliffe's understudy in 1985 for the first teacher in space program. Witnessing a shuttle launch is one the many things you need to do before you die, of course holding a baby alligator is right up there as well. Guess what you can do BOTH right here in Brevard county. The best place to watch a shuttle launch is from the visitors center at Kennedy space center or from the Port Canaveral cruise port. Both are difficult. It takes a lot of money and pull to get a Space center pass for a launch and getting into the port when no ships are docked is equally as hard. There are solutions. The beach and park adjacent to Port Canaveral as well as Canaveral National seashore are great places to watch. Basically anywhere on the beach as far south as Melbourne Beach are perfect veiwing sites. I live 20 miles south of KSC and my view is perfect. Nothing fancy doing on this as the southern folk would say, just sat yerself down on the beach!
On non-shuttle launch days the space center is open for visitors. You must buy a ticket for a bus ride in and a guided tour but it's worth doing at least once in a lifetime. Nothing at the center can really compare to the launch itself, so by all means if you find yourself in Florida the day of a launch, GET TO BREVARD COUNTY any way you can.

This was my 6th launch and for those who have lived here longer than I, it is an even higher number but we all still turn out to watch. I consider us in the privileged few to have watched something so historic, momentous and awe inspiring! So now I better go and finish my Big Gulp sized mojito (gotta kill today's quota of brain cells).
Blondie out .....