Question, where's the best place to watch the shuttle launch???

jonathan wrote:

Thanks, I'm taking your reply with me. I hope it's not too creepy
to have your trip reproduced so preciselyg. If your kids liked
it, I'll like it. Thanks again

Jonathan

s

If you stay at a hotel in the area, I'll recommend the Pelican Landing
Motel or the Sea Aire Motel, both in Cocoa Beach. We have stayed at
both in the past two years. I like the Pelican Landing a little better.
Neither motel is expensive.

The Pelican's innkeeper said she could see and hear the shuttle right
from the motel. You can see the Air Force's launch pads from either
motel, but the shuttle pads aren't visible from the Cocoa Beach.

If you stay on the beach, you'll be treated to lots of flybys by NASA
and USAF aircraft enroute to Patrick AFB in the days and hours leading
up to launch time.

Be sure to eat at Bernard's Surf in the heart of Cocoa Beach and check
out all the astronaut memorablilia on the walls.

Have fun,

Gene DiGennaro
Baltimore, Md.

"Gene DiGennaro" writes:

The launch itself is quite exciting. You'll both feel it and hear it
even though you are over ten miles away. The brightness of the SRB
exhaust plume really surprised me.

IIRC, the closest sites are the press stands at about 3 mi and the KSC
main "public" site at about 6 mi. From the later, the ship goes up a
bit before arcing over and out to the Atlantic. From the Titusville
area, I suspect that you'd not see much arcing, as you'd be pretty
near the plane of the arc.


I got another bad taste for "news" reporting when I at once observed
what I've never seen them observe -- that the booster rocket flames
looked much like huge road flares, except in orange instead of red
(both being somewhat pale versions of the colors, perhaps because of
their extreme brightness). (From burning aluminium instead of
magnesium, I suppose.) And that's something that's never struck me
when seen on TV.

In article . com,
wrote:

jonathan wrote:

Thanks, I'm taking your reply with me. I hope it's not too creepy
to have your trip reproduced so preciselyg. If your kids liked
it, I'll like it. Thanks again

Jonathan

s

If you stay at a hotel in the area, I'll recommend the Pelican Landing
Motel or the Sea Aire Motel, both in Cocoa Beach. We have stayed at
both in the past two years. I like the Pelican Landing a little better.
Neither motel is expensive.

The Pelican's innkeeper said she could see and hear the shuttle right
from the motel. You can see the Air Force's launch pads from either
motel, but the shuttle pads aren't visible from the Cocoa Beach.

If you stay on the beach, you'll be treated to lots of flybys by NASA
and USAF aircraft enroute to Patrick AFB in the days and hours leading
up to launch time.

Be sure to eat at Bernard's Surf in the heart of Cocoa Beach and check
out all the astronaut memorablilia on the walls.

Have fun,

Gene DiGennaro
Baltimore, Md.

I have tried Bernard's Surf and was disappointed -- it just didn't live
up to my expectations.

An even better place to eat is Dixie Crossroads, in Titusville, on the
road that goes out to the beach, north of TOCO Airport.

They are famous for their shrimp (of all varieties) and their
hushpuppies. Do NOT get *fried* shrimp! These are local shrimp and are
best broiled.

Orval Fairbairn wrote:


I have tried Bernard's Surf and was disappointed -- it just didn't live
up to my expectations.

An even better place to eat is Dixie Crossroads, in Titusville, on the
road that goes out to the beach, north of TOCO Airport.

They are famous for their shrimp (of all varieties) and their
hushpuppies. Do NOT get *fried* shrimp! These are local shrimp and are
best broiled.


I really wanted to get to Dixie Crossroads while I was there but never
got the chance. Maybe the next time. If you want to mix with KSC
employees, try Shuttles Bar and Grill just outside the gate on Merritt
Island. It's a little dive covered with Space Shuttle stuff. The
burgers there are great ( named after each surviving shuttle) and our
waitress was something to see! Don't worry though, you can still bring
your family.

Gene DiGennaro
Baltimore, Md.

Gene

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 15:54:23 GMT, Orval Fairbairn
wrote:

I have tried Bernard's Surf and was disappointed -- it just didn't live
up to my expectations.

....Rule of Thumb #1: any restaurant that is recommended for the
atmosphere has a 65% chance of never being recommended for the food.

OM
--
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] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
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On 31 Aug 2006 16:46:50 -0700, wrote:

The burgers there are great ( named after each surviving shuttle)

....This has me wondering just what the two "retired" burgers consisted
of. Which probably means me and Pat need to come up with gag versions
for Pathfinder and Enterprise.

The Pathfinder Burger: built with the cheapest bread, and the thinnest
slice of USDA Grade-E beef. Served with nothing on it whatsoever.

The Enterprise Burger: Same bun & beef as the rest of the burgers, but
comes with lots of extra cheese and exotic special sauces from where
no man has eaten before, just to keep the Trekkies amused.

OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[

"Gene DiGennaro" wrote in message
oups.com...

jonathan wrote:
I've always wanted to watch a launch live. Now that I'm
in Miami and have loads of spare time, I'm going dammit.

Looking on the net, there's a bunch of places to watch
from, but where would you go? How long in advance
should I get there, and are there any necessities to
bring along? Can you get a hotel if the launch is
scrubbed etc? Note, I'm not the camping type~

Thanks in advance

s


My family and I saw July 4th's launch of Discovery. We didn't have
access passes to KSC ( they're expensive, sell out fast, and not the
right place for my autistic son) so we opted for one of the waterfront
parks in Titusville. Spaceview Park is popular, but we used Manzo park
as it had shade trees and a playground for my boy.

We packed a picnic lunch and parked at the shopping mall on US Rt1
across the street from the park. We arrived about three hours before
the launch. One can see the launch pad, the VAB and the upper parts of
the Shuttle's ET from there, the rest of the orbiter is hidden by the
launch gantry. Bring binoculars or a spotter scope and a portable
radio.

The launch itself is quite exciting. You'll both feel it and hear it
even though you are over ten miles away. The brightness of the SRB
exhaust plume really surprised me.

When the launch is over, there will be huge traffic jams on all roads
leaving Titusville and the KSC area. My suggestion to you is to walk
over to the shopping mall, check out the Spacewalk Hall of Fame gift
shop and have dinner at the Italian resturant in the mall. It's clean
with air conditiong, ice cold drinks and a big screen TV. My kids liked
that! Sit back, relax, and realise that you've been an eyewitness to
history.


Thanks, I'm taking your reply with me. I hope it's not too creepy
to have your trip reproduced so preciselyg. If your kids liked
it, I'll like it. Thanks again

Jonathan

s






Hope this helps,
Gene DiGennaro
Baltimore, MD.

"OM" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 30 Aug 2006 04:11:26 -0700, Dale wrote:

Could've sworn I'd plonked him

...You did. The dildo-breathed miscreant munged his addy again. I had
to replonk him as well.


So I guess you two missed out on the free super bowl tickets I was
giving out.



OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[

OM wrote:
On 31 Aug 2006 16:46:50 -0700, wrote:

The burgers there are great ( named after each surviving shuttle)

...This has me wondering just what the two "retired" burgers consisted
of. Which probably means me and Pat need to come up with gag versions
for Pathfinder and Enterprise.

The Pathfinder Burger: built with the cheapest bread, and the thinnest
slice of USDA Grade-E beef. Served with nothing on it whatsoever.

The Enterprise Burger: Same bun & beef as the rest of the burgers, but
comes with lots of extra cheese and exotic special sauces from where
no man has eaten before, just to keep the Trekkies amused.

OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[


Since Enterprise was built without functioning engines or a real TPS,
let's give the Enterprise burger a soy protein veggie burger ( meat
mock-up) and soy based non-dairy cheese ( cheese mock-up)!

Gene