Road Trip: South - i95 trip
Day 3: Saturday, November 12, 2011 - Sanford, FL
The South: 2011
Day 3 - Saturday, November 12
In the morning, we showered. Linda was first and I was fifth (we knew this from the towel count in the shower area). We headed to the dining car for breakfast and ate with the couple we met the previous evening. Breakfast consisted of cold cereal and warm muffins and bagels. It was sufficient. Especially when I ate a bagel, muffin and a bowl of cereal.
While getting closer to our destination, we passed what we saw, for the first time on our trip, palm trees.
As we passed through Jacksonville, we were informed by the Ops Manager on the speakers, that it was a balmy 38 degrees outside (wait, weren't we in Florida?). We arrived in Sanford a little late - about an hour behind schedule. After waiting for our car, we got underway a little before 12:00.
We were headed toward the Kennedy Space Center. We ate at a Burger King on the way. Due to our late arrival, we didn't get to spend as much time at the Space Center as we wanted. We still got to see quite a few things, though, and even went on the Shuttle Experience simulator.
Due to the cancellation of the shuttle program, Kennedy is going to offer commercialized launches. This is the launch pad.
Some of the sites of the Kennedy Space Center compond.
Countdown clock.
The control center at Kennedy from where launches are managed.
The gravel roads in the foreground are the roads the shuttle travels on between the bay and the launch pad.
The shuttle bay.
The shuttle bay close up.
The largest painted American flag in the world.
The stars are six feet tall.
This is the mobile launch pad.
It moves the shuttle very slowly from the shuttle bay to the launch pad.
A launch tower. Or two.
We also saw a shuttle up close. On the inside too.
Boosters.
Shuttle lengthwise.
Shuttle ceramic tiles.
The landing gear.
The underbelly (use the child as a size reference).
The cargo bay.
Toilet.
Galley.
This was an engine on display at the observation tower.
There was an area called the Rocket Garden.
At the rocket garden, there was a launch walkway and the inside of a lunar module.
NASA jet.
Lunar module at the enterence of the Space Center.
A memorial to all the spacepeople that died.
Before leaving the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Center, we ran into someone...
We also ran into the gift shop.
On the way back toward Sanford from Kennedy, we were greated with a lovely sunset. If you can see what look like
spots in the image - those are on the windshield. It was VERY buggy over that stretch of road.
Someone Linda works with's grandmother lives in Sanford and she recommended Hollerback's Willow Tree Café, a German restaurant. By the time we got back to Sanford, it was about 7:00 and there was quite a line outside to get in. We passed that by and wound up at Bojangles near the hotel. We almost stopped at a buffet place, but we decided we didn't want to be tempted to overeat that late. We later learned that had we turned left across from Bojangles, we would have come across about a dozen restaurants a half mile or so down the street. Plus, closer to the hotel, there were about four other places too. Bummer.
We were staying at the Comfort Inn and Suites. The room had all the amendeties one would need or want: nuker, mini-fridge, flat screen, hair dryer, coffee maker. The bed was comfy and the bathroom was spacious. The hotel had an exercise room and even a pool (well, it IS Florida). We would eventually learn that this was the best hotel we stayed in.