Our "Space Buddy" reporting for duty 
IMAX Show: "Walking on the Moon"
"The Astronaut" 
Justin talking to Dr. Bartoe
Justin hugs his new (autographed) bearWe woke up this morning in Florida (which was rumored to have more sun than Rhode Island) to dark and stormy skies. Seriously? More rain? I guess my beach plans were out! No problem, the kids are happy doing anything that we come up with and for that I am grateful.
John had to work and my plans of hitting the beach were clearly not going to work so I tried some "out of the box" thinking. I looked into taking the kids to Disney World but I wasn't feeling the love when I looked at the 3 hour drive and the shocking, painful price of admission. John suggested going to Cape Canaveral and visiting the space center - The idea was nothing short of genius! We climbed back into "Big Ben" and we hit the road. The 2.5 hour drive seemed relatively painless and short after the 20 hours we spent in the car over the weekend!
The first thing we did when we got there was see an IMAX show about walking on the moon. It was an incredible 3-D show that was perfect for the kids. (Except the part where Annalise fell asleep in my lap). Justin watched with wide eyes for 45 minutes as they showed footage from the lunar landings and he was amazed by how hard it is to walk on the moon (which has 1/6 the gravity that we are accustomed to here on Earth). The highlight of the day came next when we all hopped in the fight simulator and got to experience a shuttle launch. It was pretty intense and I was afraid Annalise would get scared but both kids loved it! They tipped us to a 90 degree angle to simulate sitting on the launch pad, threw the force at us which made it impossible to lift your head, and then they added the shaking. I am faced with the reality that I am old and wrinkly because this thing forced my cheeks all the way back to my ears and jiggled every inch of skin on my face. I looked over at Annalise when she tightened her grip on my hand but she had joy rather than fear in her eyes and I knew she was having a great time. Justin was in the row behind us and I heard him giggling. When they opened the cargo bay doors for us, we were looking down on Italy and Annalise announced that a space alien had flown over us. Justin just said, "Cool!"
We met an astronaut (John David Bartoe) and he chatted with Justin for a minute before we got rushed away by the handlers. Dr. Bartoe signed Justin's astronaut bear and patienly talked with him about being a Navy kid and, more importantly, the grandson of a NASA Engineer. Dr. Bartoe shook Justin's hand and told Justin to "keep at it" when he said proudly that he wanted to fly fighter jets one day. (For reference, Annalise currently wants to be a "Navy Ship").
John had to work and my plans of hitting the beach were clearly not going to work so I tried some "out of the box" thinking. I looked into taking the kids to Disney World but I wasn't feeling the love when I looked at the 3 hour drive and the shocking, painful price of admission. John suggested going to Cape Canaveral and visiting the space center - The idea was nothing short of genius! We climbed back into "Big Ben" and we hit the road. The 2.5 hour drive seemed relatively painless and short after the 20 hours we spent in the car over the weekend!
The first thing we did when we got there was see an IMAX show about walking on the moon. It was an incredible 3-D show that was perfect for the kids. (Except the part where Annalise fell asleep in my lap). Justin watched with wide eyes for 45 minutes as they showed footage from the lunar landings and he was amazed by how hard it is to walk on the moon (which has 1/6 the gravity that we are accustomed to here on Earth). The highlight of the day came next when we all hopped in the fight simulator and got to experience a shuttle launch. It was pretty intense and I was afraid Annalise would get scared but both kids loved it! They tipped us to a 90 degree angle to simulate sitting on the launch pad, threw the force at us which made it impossible to lift your head, and then they added the shaking. I am faced with the reality that I am old and wrinkly because this thing forced my cheeks all the way back to my ears and jiggled every inch of skin on my face. I looked over at Annalise when she tightened her grip on my hand but she had joy rather than fear in her eyes and I knew she was having a great time. Justin was in the row behind us and I heard him giggling. When they opened the cargo bay doors for us, we were looking down on Italy and Annalise announced that a space alien had flown over us. Justin just said, "Cool!"
We met an astronaut (John David Bartoe) and he chatted with Justin for a minute before we got rushed away by the handlers. Dr. Bartoe signed Justin's astronaut bear and patienly talked with him about being a Navy kid and, more importantly, the grandson of a NASA Engineer. Dr. Bartoe shook Justin's hand and told Justin to "keep at it" when he said proudly that he wanted to fly fighter jets one day. (For reference, Annalise currently wants to be a "Navy Ship").
It was a sunny day after all and we had a great time. The best part of the day was that while John was flying, and we were in the simulator, even Jasmine got in on the action as a "Space Buddy" in the Space Center Kennel. She did not exacly love it but she kept cool in the air conditioned cargo bay they have for dogs.
I am not sure what Justin will do when he grows up but after today he has a little spark in his eye and he says that he plans to be "Maverick"...I bet he will be...
Way to save the family some money by not sending Lisa and the kids to Disney World John. Oh wait, as I am sure we will see in a future installment, we all went to Disney World later on anyway! I am sorry I missed out on the Kennedy Space Center though. Looks cool!
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