Day 15 - Mission: Kennedy Space Center

This morning, we were off to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
We took the Bus Tour there which takes you out to three locations:
Stop #1: Launch Complex 39. A drive by the VAB or Vehicle Assembly Building (where the shuttle is prepared & attached to the rocket boosters) & then out to 2 of the launchpads.
This is the VAB. One of the world’s largest buildings by volume - it is 525 feet tall, 716 feet long, and 518 feet wide. The doors are massive - the assembled shuttle with its booster rockets has to fit through them. (The picture doesn't do it justice. To put it better in perspective - each of the stars on the American flag on the side of the building are 6 feet tall - just shy of Colby's height. Big huh?)
This is launchpad 39A. There is a launch set for mid May, so you can see the Shuttle on the pad going through its month long preparations. It travels on a giant machine called a crawler for over 3 miles from the VAB to pad 39A - it only travels about 1 mile per hour, but it can take up to 5 hours to make the journey. This machine with the assembled shuttle on it weigh so much that the river rock it travels on which is 7 feet deep is crushed from the weight and has to be replaced with fresh rock. This is launchpad 39B - which has not been used recently but is being converted for future space exploration missions when the shuttle program ends.

Stop #2: The Saturn V exhibit. This place has a bit of added interest for us - because my Uncle Bob worked for NASA during the Apollo missions with the Saturn V rocket (more specifically on STAGE 3 of Saturn V).
SO BIG!
SO, SO BIG!!
This is STAGE 3.

Stop #3: The current International Space Station Center.
The components that make up the space station are assembled, processed & prepared here for the trip to orbit.

We also rode the Launch Simulator ride which produces incredible G-Forces (Glad they don't take pictures during the ride - Think you have double chin? How about triple chin?)
The Rocket Garden - display of rockets used in past space exploration.
A Saturn Rocket. This one is "THIS BIG" - yeah right!
Colby in a Lunar Rover.

A good day at KSC!

Afterward - it was off to dinner with my Grandpa, Uncle, Aunt & Cousin at Dixie Crossroads, known for their rock shrimp. Colby and I shared a huge platter of rock shrimp, bay scallops, crab legs and a whole maine lobster. WOW - It looked so good, we dug in and forgot to take a picture! Disappoint it did not.

Day 14 - Mission: Merritt Island Sightseeing

This morning, we were off to the Merritt Island Congregation with Aunt Joann - it was nice to meet some of her friends.
In the afternoon, Colby & I made the trip out to Cocoa Beach to test out the Atlantic Ocean waters. It was just beautiful! The water while a bit warmer than the Pacific, was a welcome refreshment to the heat & humidity of Florida.
The rip tides were insane & actually change the level of the sand on the shore. Us at the Atlantic seashore.Our mark on the sand.That evening, we had some unfortunate excitement. Aunt Joann fell in the kitchen & was rushed off to the ER for some stitches. Six hours later, she emerged with 7 stitches, a broken pinky finger, and bruises. I told her there are much easier ways to get onto our blog than this - at least her sense of humor was in tact. (I will see if she is up for a picture - stay tuned.)

Day 13 - Mission: Family Dinner, Part 2

Another shorter post for today.
We arrived in Merritt Island, Florida late last night after leaving Disney World. A tour of Merritt Island with a stop at the World's Largest RonJon store courtesy of Cathi & Jim.

My Aunt Joann & Uncle Bob bravely & kindly took on the task of another family dinner. And again, it was so nice to see everyone - Cousin's, their spouses, their kids.... It was a regular Gunn Family Reunion.

The newer additions to the family Daisy, Heather, Robbie & I also met "Jen Jr." - if you know my family, not so coincidentally there are at least two of almost every name. Poor kid got stuck with mine (even if it is a variation) - HA!
This is my 100 year old Grandpa, who probably will out live us all!

Late afternoon, the guys went out fishing & unfortunately the fish were not biting.

Day 12 - Mission: Disney World "Magic Kingdom" & Merritt Island, FL

This morning, we met up with my cousin's son, Christopher for a visit to the "Magic Kingdom".

Our first ride - the ever popular "Pirate's of the Caribbean".

Then off to Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain & the nearly forgotten "Country Bear Jamboree".

A stroll through Fantasyland, brought us to the 3D "Philharmagic" show (an ensemble of some favorite Disney music on 3D film).
And for the final ride - Space Mountain.
A brief stop at the Main Street Candy Store, and I was in full "kid" mode.

We headed back over to Epcot for the Pavilions & food we missed yesterday.
I will end the day with my personal favorite photo of the trip thus far:

Fearsome, I know.

Day 11 - Mission: Disney World "Epcot"

Starting off with another one of those not so pleasant experiences. After arriving back at the Resort from Animal Kingdom, we found out that I had been bitten by or had some sort of allergic reaction to something while I was on the hammock the other night. I felt it happening but did not think much about it. Right on the small of my back and it itches like crazy. (Benadryl to the rescue!)

This morning, we were off to Epcot - my favorite Disney Park of all.

We met up with my cousin Linda & Jim for what would turn out a fun but exhausting day of walking.

The International Flower & Garden Festival was going on here - so we captured some of the character topiaries.

My favorite part of Epcot is the World Expo. Visiting so many countries in one afternoon isn't possible anywhere else.

Canada

UK

France

Morocco

Japan

Italy

Germany

China

We did miss a few pavilions - we will definitely be back tomorrow afternoon!

We had lunch in "Canada" at Le Cellier. It was delicious and we were stuffed but the "Happy Anniversary" button struck again. This time with delicious Canadian Mousse - aka Chocolate Mousse with Maple Leaf shaped ears. Too bad this button doesn't work outside of Disney property.

A great shot of the "Ball" - Spaceship Earth at night.

Day 10 - Mission: Disney World "Animal Kingdom"

Our apologies again for the delay in posting days 10-14 activities. We will make every attempt to catch up as quickly as possible.

Today we left Homosassa and made our way east across central Florida to Orlando - more specifically Disney World. We found our resort - the Pop Century Resort - themed around the 1950's - 1990's. In traditional Disney Style it was bright, fun, and loud!

We met my cousin Linda here (she had arranged our stay there - THANKS AGAIN!) and checked in. At check in, they gave us an assortment of buttons to wear. Most predominant was the "Happy Anniversary" button (so its a little early, but our whole Coast to Coast trip is sort of an anniversary expedition). Colby also wore a "1st Time" button, but it didn't seem to matter much that he had never been to Disney World before.

We had lunch with my cousin Linda & her husband Kevin at the Yacht Club Resort & they gave us a delicious anniversary dessert, some sort of chocolate truffle with fresh strawberries - hhmmm I think I might like this button.

Then it was off for a tour of Disney World property. After, we set off for Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park. We had a great time here and have some fun experiences to relate.

This is the "Tree of Life" in the Center of the Park (a bit ironic, I know)

This one gets its name from all the types of "life" forms carve into its trunk, look closely & you might see tigers, bison, fish, hippos, owls, whales, and other such creatures.

We first stopped at the Lion King Experience - a lively show, then we sort of were stuck watching a parade on our way to the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. We saw lots of animals...

a young elephant

a white rhino (literally, right next to the jeep)

and my personal favorite, reticulated giraffes.

Then a walk through the Maharaja Jungle - flying foxes, fruit bats, tigers, birds, etc. I got lots of amazing photos of the Asian tigers, but I will only post a few.

We rode the newest ride Expedition Everest twice - a forward & backwards high speed roller coaster, protected by a larger than life Yeti.

The craziest experience of the night - was the discovery made on the Dinosaur ride. Apparently, I am terrified of Dinosaurs - even the animatronic ones. I do not have access to the photo right now, but check back for the proof of me wanting off that ride as soon as possible.

Tomorrow's challenge: Epcot - my favorite!