This morning Chris and I carried two sleepy, smiling children to the car at 5:45 AM to make the 1 1/2 hour drive down to Spaceview Park in Titusville, Florida. It was a needed 11 hours prior to the scheduled lift-off of the space shuttle Discovery’s much anticipated final flight of its 27 years of service with NASA. We arrived to a significant number of tents, chairs, and people already marking spots for the late afternoon launch. The energy was already electric even at this early hour as people eagerly anticipated the launch.
The kids and I spent a great deal of time yesterday reading up on the logistics of shuttle launches, the International Space Station, and reading and watching videos on the NASA website about the preparation for, goals, and crew of Discovery: STS- 133.
We spent today playing games on our blankets, reading real-time NASA blog updates, and wandering with the Lundy family- a traveling family we first met in Las Vegas last October and were thrilled to hook back up with when we arrived in Florida. The kids and their dads had an afternoon visit at the Space Walk of Fame Museum and really enjoyed the interactive exhibits there.
It was truly amazing to witness such a historical event live and in person. For my generation, this is the end of an era which we were able to share with our children. What’s next? Only they know.
