How many trips have we made to Titusville or KSC for launches? I dunno, but it's a fairly high number. Given that we are only a few hours away, I have worked in down to almost an art. I have my favorite locations and my routines. I will say that I have driven down for many more scrubs than I have for actual launches, but my comfort and needs are not the priority here! LOL Ralph was not able to join me on this trip but Katie (our 16 year old sometimes babysitter, sometimes just additional family member) was. I also had friends that were camping about an hour or so away that were planning on meeting us.
Ralph helped Katie and I load up and we left on Easter evening at about 10:30pm. Eliza was already asleep so Ralph just carried her to the car in her jammies. The boys finally went to sleep at some point. Katie kept a close watch of Twitter the entire was down so we could turn around if need be. We arrived after 2:00 am and set up on the side of Indian River Drive, near to the entrance of Space View Park. We set up an area on the side of the road and all the kids, plus Katie, got some sleep. Our friends showed up about 15 minutes before the launch.
It was a breathtaking launch! The ISS passed over just a few minutes before launch and it was as bright as I've ever seen it! WOW, it looked like it crossed right over the launch pad! The launch was fabulous and then the contrails in the breaking dawn...oh my...There was no way to get a good picture of it. It was amazing. There is a picture from Disney that shows the light on the contrails. I will see if I can find it.
Then it was a sleepy drive home. We were back in our driveway by lunchtime. What a fabulous time!
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