when we arrived in florida, peter noticed on a sign that the blue angels just happened to be flying the following day at the kennedy space center, the first time they had flown there in 30 years. apparently, we had arrived just in time for the 2008 air show. so, the next day, off we went. but not before jumping in the pool and hitting the beach. ava declared the beach, and its treasures to be simply the coolest thing she had ever done. she adored the shells. and both kids loved the waves (after overcoming some fear and getting life preservers on). carter just loved the opportunity to run and run and run and run and dig and dig and dig and dig.
after some lunch, we went to the air show. apparently, we had a significant advantage coming from the south, since those coming from orlando had already spent 4 hours in bumper to bumper traffic. we were unaware of tehir plight, but it became very clear as we interacted with the world's grumpiest airshow audience. to add insult to their injury, the line for tickets was an hour long, then the line for security (high) was another hour, then the line for the bus to get to the cuaseway (hence the tickets) was another hour. these were very unhappy people. the center was doing virtually nothing to help people understand what was going on, move things along, etc. and it turned out that the parking lots filled up and people were just stuck in their cars on the road. the employees were either completely clueless about the process or they just could not explain it or they didn't care (probably a bit of all 3). it was not lost on us that customer service was NOT the kennedy space center's priority. which is sort of understandable, in the sense that we were all being carted out to the middle of a huge complex where incredibly sensitive and powerful and expensive stuff is going on--the shuttle was on the pad at that point--and then there is the small matter of the military base, etc. however, NASA is definitely in need of public support, so this seemed to be a bit of a failure on their part to improve their image. with orlando and its crowds so close, i would suggest that they go take some lessons in crowd management from the private sector. mickey would be a good contact.
anyway, we made it out there, the airshow was terrific, as expected, and we also managed to get out of there essentially unscathed. the funniest part was that as soon as the blue angels started, the return busses lined up, and people got in line to leave--there was one woman who barked at her (unhappy) husband "well dear, we really need to
our next adventure was disney. much as i remembered, except the characters do not walk around--now they are all cordoned off so that you have to wait in a line to chat with them, and i was astonished to see how small the actual acreage is. the walkways are narrow--clearly build a long time ago, and the crowds were incredible. the kids loved it, but we never got much out of fantasyland. which was fine. the risk they take with people's safety on those rides was also amazing. we saw one show--which blew carter's mind because the evil witch from sleeping beauty suddenly appeared and he has been talking about her for weeks--ever since seeing the movie. since she turns into a dragon, and the prince has a sword and a shield, and there is a huge duel, it is carter's favorite drama right now. she was the most convincing of the group of characters up there singing and dancing, and carter's face was frozen -- jaw dropped, eyes unblinking. i don't think he took a breath the whole time she was up there. you could just see the concern/excitement in his whole being that she actually might turn into a dragon and he might be called upon to fight her. later, ava turned to me and said "mom, i know those characters in the show were not real. i could tell it was not the princesses' real hair (they had cinderella, aurora, and snow white on stage at one point), and i KNOW minnie and mickey are not that big." the rides were a hit--both loved "it's a small world" both hated the haunted house (with good reason), both loved the peter pan ride, pirates of the carribean, the bear show, dumbo, the rockets, and the race cars. ava and i both loved the teacups, carter did not, and peter looked a bit pale. somehow we managed to get out of there without purchasing one souvenir.
my overall impression was generally positive, but the crowds really made it difficult. later in the trip, ava would conclude that she liked sea world better--because she can feed the dolphins there. this is not a huge surprise--she loves rides and all that, but she is so serious and such a sponge that the more information-saturated experience of seaworld was more compelling. but if you ask her how disney was, she has nothing but glowing reviews. carter never really commented one way or another, but i think the whole trip merged into one huge amusement park for him. personally, that is how i ended up feeling at the end too.
the following day we went to sea world, and did the usual stuff--shamu, dolphins, the happy harbor (where the attendant almost barred me from the kiddie teacups b/c i was pregnant) and some other animal interactions.
then the next day (did i mention each of these trips is an hour's drive from the beach? we spent a LOT of time in the car, and i learned that the kids have finally hit the stage where they can be transferred asleep from car to bed without waking, a huge bonus) we went to sea world's new water park, "Aquatica" -- very very very fun. kid-centered, lots of things both of them could do. we pretty much spent 7 hours in the water. it was the only place where i did not hear screaming--as in crying--kids. disney and seaworld are filled with meltdowns. water park? nope. the only meltdowns were when children were being rounded up to leave.
an aside: florida is hardly an environmentalist's dream state.
the day after that we went back to seaworld, and then the next day was the shuttle launch, so we did not budge from our prime spot next to the beach. no one was willing to risk getting stuck in the traffic coming from orlando-- we had seen that up close and personal already.
as noted before, the launch was incredible. i think ava was the most amazed, just unable to understand in advance exactly how huge the fire from the rockets would be. she had assumed someone lit a wick under the shuttle, then ran for dear life, and the magnitude of the explosion had her gaping. carter thought it was very cool, but he was upset that he could not see the windows on the shuttle. i could not adequately explain that the minimum safe distance is 3 miles, and no one gets to see the windows, really.
the next day we talked and researched and learned a lot about the shuttle, and by the end of the day, both kids understood that there are 2 rocket boosters that get recovered, one external fuel tank which does not get recovered, and the shuttle itself, which returns like a plane. the concept of the space station was a bit vague and both clung fiercely to the notion that the shuttle was going to the moon.
the next day we drove even further to see cypress gardens. great water-ski show, but it was the last day before they were closing for rennovations and the crowds were huge and they were understaffed, so that was sort of hard. it was a weird experience--like being transported back a few generations to an old-school amusement park. but again, fun. in an exhausting, amusement park sort of way.
however, the shuttle launch really had us ready to reevaluate our previous assessment of the kennedy space center, and we returned to actually see the center itself. it was so worth it. they had not really improved upon their communications skills when it came to getting tickets -- there were about a hundred different options, and it was impossible to tell what you would get with each option, but in the end it all sorted itself out. we were able to go for 2 days, so on the 1st day we explored the main visitor's center, with the rockets and capsules on display in the rocket garden, an imax movie about the space station, a killer playground (perhaps the best yet), a chance to meet an astronaut -- not interesting for the kids, since he was not in a space-suit -- and a chance to peek inside a space shuttle. but it was the second day that the real magic happened.
i cannot stay awake another moment, but i promise to finish tomorrow. all i can say is that the teachers in my elementary school years definitely failed to take advantage of an incredible story and learning opportunity. if i had known then what i now know as a result of this trip, i would have been blown away and hugely motivated. i cannot believe that in the years leading up to the shuttle launch, we did nothing more than learn about the planets. no one ever told me how dramatic the first moon landing was, or even the events leading to that mission. i ended up walking around mourning the missed opporunity, grumbling that i could not believe "my teachers never told me THAT. or THAT! can you believe they never explained this???" and so on.
one other thing: when you spend 2 weeks at various amusement parks, etc., where you cannot bring outside food in, and you depend upon them for both lunch and dinner, you start to 1. feel like crap from all the junk you have no option but to consume and 2. understand the health crisis that is plaguing this country. when i arrived home this afternoon, i immediately baked and consumed 2 large acorn squash. i almose ate an entire can of beans -- from the can-- anything to excape the greasy sugary goo that we had been eating nonstop. it is a real tragedy that food is such a low priority for so many people. and scary.
anyway, more tomorrow. the tour of the space center, carter's swimming, the massive headcold that we brought to florida, the airport, ava's headaches (sigh) etc.
