The Lee Family: Kennedy Space Center

CK Sr. and Connie left for home yesterday and took Buddy with them, since we decided to go to Kennedy Space Center today and had no idea what to do with Buddy during our visit. As much fun as it was to have Buddy with us at the beach, it was clear he never cared for the condo or something about the place since he was more than happy to jump into CK Sr's truck and head back to the farm. He wouldn't even come close enough for me to pet him goodbye!

We were all super excited for our day at Kennedy Space Center, so we woke up at 6:30am and left the condo by 7:30am so we could drive the hour or so to Cape Canaveral. Of course, we had to stop at Starbucks as soon as possible after leaving the condo too! I was dying for a solid cup of coffee! We all got "breakfast" at Starbucks - muffins, coffees and hot chocolates, and continued on our drive. As soon as the food and drinks were done, the girls were fast asleep! We arrived and parked by 9:15am, just after the Kennedy Space Visitor Center had opened. We bought our tickets, entered and walked through the "Rocket Garden" toward the tour buses. We didn't actually have time to explore the "Rocket Garden" but knew would would walk back through on our way to the car, so we would get a chance later in the day.

We actually signed up for the special interest tour, which is a two-hour tour of the Vehicle Assembly Building, historic Launch Complex 39 and views of the launch pads used by NASA’s commercial partner, SpaceX. It was super cool to see where the early space program vehicles launched from and where Space Shuttles launched from and it was impossible to imagine how loud and incredible it would be to watch a launch! The tour started at the Redstone Mercury Rocket and we drove by the Administration Building. From there we went by the Vehicle Assembly Building, which is so huge, it is hard to imagine how something is assembled correctly inside it! After, we got to see four different launch pads from the stands and even saw two manatees by the bridge as we crossed over to a small island. After, we saw the Crawler Vehicles, which go about 1/4 of a mile an hour as they move the missiles carefully from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad. We drove by Launch Pad 39A and 39B and saw where the Supersonic camera was located. We stopped and stretched our legs at the Supersonic Camera building where a sign had all of the badges of each launch from 39A and 39B. We stopped at Saturn V building where we saw the Launch Control Center Video that explained how a launch happened and all that went into it. It was so cool and the best part is the video ended with Jim Lovell! From there, our tour ended at the Saturn V rocket, which is in great shape and an awesome display!

We looked over the Saturn V rocket and then ended up at the Moon Rock Cafe to eat lunch. We split a pizza and chicken wrap and the girls got yogurts and drinks. None of us were terribly hungry and of course the prices were crazy high. The food was pretty good actually and after we were done we walked through the Apollo 1 Memorial which honored Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chafee and their sacrifice to further the space program. The Memorial also included all of the 24 astronauts who have died trying to fly into space, including the crews of Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia. CK and I both have talked about our memories of where we were when both Shuttle tragedies happened. It's hard to convey to the girls how powerful and upsetting those tragedies were. After looking over the memorials and thinking of the many astronauts who sacrificed their lives to explore space, we watched the Apollo 11 movie and went into see the Apollo 14 Command Module. Sofia was basically in heaven! She knew so much about the Apollo 11 and the Command Module. We also got to look at various space suits, Jim Lovell's space suite, space rocks and various knickknacks that went into space with various crews.

We walked back into the Saturn V display area and exited through the gift shop. Of course, both girls wanted to buy Space Ice Cream and Sofia wanted an Apollo 13 pin, but the lines were very long. So we decided to get on the bus and return to the visitor center, where we went into the shuttle exhibit. Sofia isn't very impressed with the Space Shuttle missions and wants to "go to the moon" instead. So, she doesn't know the Space Shuttle system as well, and isn't nearly as interested in it as she is the Apollo and early space missions. We stood in a long line and watched a video about how the concept of a shuttle was developed and then built. After that video, we moved into a domed room that showed a movie that simulated a shuttle launch and flight into space. It was very inspiring and just as it ended with us looking back toward the earth from space, the screen pulled up and the Shuttle Atlantis was displayed as if it was flying! It was absolutely incredible! None of us realized it was a screen, so when it pulled up it was like magic! Sofia was super excited, almost as excited as CK! We walked around the Atlantis, and talked with one of the scientists who explained how the outer shield tile worked and how they made it. Sofia got to hold it, and it was crazy how light it was! After, the girls played on the cockpit simulator and the Space Station play structure for a bit before we all went to the "landing" slide! It was SO much fun!

After, we walked back to the "Rocket Garden" and explored the various rockets before visiting the Heroes and Legends exhibit. We watched a video that simulated a hurricane and was actually a little scary. Olivia curled up on my lap and closed her eyes and covered her ears. After the video, we visited the Hall of Heroes, where Sofia wanted her picture taken with each of her favorite space guys! The Visitor Center was closing, so we took our final pictures before walking to our car and heading to Ocala. As we drove, we realized that one of CK's close friends, Lanny and his family were also at Kennedy Space Center and we missed each other by maybe an hour as we did the same tour! We were so bummed neither of us checked our Facebook accounts, so we could meet up while we were there! Olivia fell asleep within 15 minutes of leaving Cape Canaveral. We stopped at Sunny's BBQ at 7pm before continuing on to the farm. Buddy was in his usual spot on the couch waiting for us. He was super excited to see us, of course. It was such a fun day and we could have spent another whole day at the Visitor Center! There was so much to see and do! Sofia really loved it and it was a great birthday present for her!

Snoozing on the way to Cape Canaveral