...Discovery's final flight

I don't know if it's possible to give you an idea of what it's like to see a shuttle launch.......it is all so much bigger..........bigger than words, bigger than my vocabulary!!!! Just think of all the superlatives you know, then giant-size them, and you might be about half way there. It was absolutely spectacular!!! We were there with about 100,000+ other people..........and the experience has done a little to restore my faith in mankind. There was no "assigned" seating, of course, but there was no harsh language, no pushing (at least near us) and while there were several with seriously large camera and lens, I think everyone got a "good" shot. There were tripods everywhere and children lying on blankets. Once we got our seats set, we didn't go anywhere unless absolutely necessary. But when you have to sit for 3-4 hours, there are some "necessaries". People were just generally very nice and very helpful. And we had a great time visiting. We got up at 5:00 a.m., found an IHOP for some good breakfast, and got to our "pick up point" by about 6:30. There was a long line and some buses had already departed for the Space Center. It was a beautiful morning...

We wandered around KSC [Kennedy Space Center] and sat in our chairs until we thought we should get in line for the bus. The "line" was hardly discernible.......see if you can make it out...

We walked through more zig-zag "fencing" than I care to remember--you know, the stuff they use to fit long lines of people into small places--I think we walked a mile before we got to the bus and it was all back and forth and around. We finally made it to the bus and headed out to the causeway across the Banana River--not really a river, but that's the name...We staked out our claim and got our chairs set up. Then people started pulling out their equipment. Oh my!!!! I had taken my tripod, but I didn't set it up............you will see why..............and then we waited, and waited, and waited, and waited............we saw lots of birds, fish and a few dolphins. It was cool!! And, as I said, everyone was nice. They had some speakers set up so we could hear what was going on six miles away............we held our collective breath at every hold and cheered at every "clearance". When it got to five minutes and the Air Force had their computer glitch, we all groaned. And I'm sure I was not the only one praying. When they announced "go for launch" there was a ragged little cheer and everyone checked their cameras again. From that far away, you have to be watching or you miss lift-off. Sound doesn't get to you until the shuttle is up some distance. So we all watched! With a vengeance!! When the sound does come, it starts as a low rumble/roar, then louder and louder until you can hear what sounds to me like the actual combustion--then it's a popping, throbbing kind of very loud noise..........there are no words, sorry............it still just fills me with awe.

The vehicle assembly building, where they "stack" the shuttle is to the left. The empty launch pad is to the right of the smoke between the little mangrove islands. Yes, I felt a little empty myself...........it was over...........