Yesterday was a girls’ day out for Terry and our friend Ann Moran, while Ann’s husband Tim and I had a boys’ day in. It worked out well for everybody.
We had told our friends that we’d come down to their place in Rockledge about mid-morning, and spend the day together. The plan was that Terry and Ann were going to do some shopping and hit some of the craft supply stores, while Tim and I visited a local museum, and then we’d meet up with the ladies for a late lunch.
My back was acting up the night before and I didn’t get a lot of sleep, and when we got to Rockledge, Tim was feeling under the weather. Plus, the electric motor on the well pump that they use for watering their lawn had failed, and a repairman was on the way to replace it.
So, we made a change in plans. Terry and Ann went ahead and did their thing, while Tim and I stayed at the house waiting for the repairman to get finished with the motor. When the job was done, Tim and I decided to just hang out at the house and visit for the afternoon. So that’s just what we did, and I think that between the two of us, we solved most of the problems of the world by the time Terry and Ann returned about 4 p.m. I really enjoyed having a quiet day with my good friend, doing nothing at all.
The space shuttle is supposed to launch Wednesday afternoon, and my buddy Greg White had e-mailed me about a good place to watch the launch, from the causeway that connects Titusville with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Greg told us where to park, and said we’d have a nice unobstructed view of the launch across the water.
Either we went to the wrong place, or else Greg didn’t know about the new bridge they are building next to the causeway, but the view sure seemed “obstructed” to us!
No problem, we just drove a little further out the causeway, which has parking areas on both sides, and we found several places from which we can watch the lift off, if we get there early enough to beat the crowds. The signs along the causeway say No Overnight Camping, but we saw several RVs parked there that look like they are settled in until the launch. Maybe the rules are relaxed when they have a launch, I don’t know.
We spent some time watching people fishing, or just enjoying being near the water, and Miss Terry got some very nice sunset pictures.
We wanted to have dinner at Dixie Crossroads again, but when we arrived the place was packed and people were standing in line waiting to get seated. Wow, when we were there Saturday night, we walked right in! The hostess told me the wait was about 30 minutes, and that they would stay this busy until after the crowds who came to town for the launch have left. We drove a mile so to a little Mexican restaurant called La Bamba II that we discovered on our last visit here, and had no problem getting a table. The food was excellent, and we were stuffed when we left.
Back at The Great Outdoors, there was a note on our door warning us to boil the water before we used it for drinking, brushing teeth, etc. for the next 72 hours. Apparently they had a broken pipe, and were worried about any contamination that might have occurred. We always keep at least a half tank of water on board, so it won’t be a problem, just a minor inconvenience.
A major inconvenience here is the terribly slow service we’re getting on our Verizon air card. We are only a couple of miles from town, but we are on the fringe of the signal area, and sometimes we can’t get online at all, or we get thrown off repeatedly. So much of our work is done online that this presents a real problem for us.
Hopefully today my back will cooperate and Tim will be feeling better, and we can get that museum trip in.
Thought For The Day – Be careful about reading health books. You could die of a misprint.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Well, if you’re where I think you are, that bridge was definitely not there in May of 2009.
Sorry ’bout that.
A really good place to see the launch is just go straight east on HWY 50 until it dead ends into US 1. Anywhere along there (from US 50 up to Garden Street along US 1) you are directly across from the VAB (Vertical Assembly Building) and the 2 pads used to launch the shuttles. If you get there early, you can park in any of the businesses usually for free and just walk across US 1 to the Indian River side. People take chairs or something to sit on, food and drinks and enjoy the view!!!
Or you watch it on your TV and then step outside your RV at TGO and look slightly north. You will see hear and feel the launch. Many ways to enjoy a wonderful experience.
“If you get there early” The best viewing places seem to fill up by four hours before the launch. We got there at 10:30 AM for a 2:20 PM launch in the spring and the best spots were already spoken for. The good thing is that you can see, hear, and feel it from almost anywhere along the shore in Titusville.
We saw some RVs on the downtown streets in Titusville that seemed to have been there all night, so my guess is yes, they do relax the rules.
If you can see the launch pad you will see everything.
We stayed at Great Outdoors a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. Nice place, nice people and nice golf course. We enjoyed just watching people go by in their custom golf carts! Enjoy the launch!
My compliments to the terrific sunset shots Miss Terry! May I ask what kind of camera you are using?
Terry’s pictures are fabulous. It is so great to be at the right place, at the right time with camera in hand. Good job Terry.
Nick, have you looked into Verizon’s MIFI for your internet usage? We bought ours 2 weeks ago and so far it is great. It is generally very fast. According to Verizon, if you can get cell phone coverage you can connect to the internet. So far we haven’t traveled with it. Even though we are living in the RV full time my DH is still working until just before Christmas. Then we will be on the road full time and we shall see if the coverage is still this good!