As an old Tulane friend said to me the other day, “We are now closer to 80 than 70.”  That is a sobering thought, even if I do still have one day to go before it is 100% true.  The idea of a BirthDAY is way too fleeting. BirthMONTH has a much nicer feel. The party prep began when we left home. 

The party officially began last week. Initially, we were going to spend a month in New Orleans and the fam would join us for the boys’ school vacation week. Allie –– Mommy of Ronan, 7 and Elliott, 6 –– nixed that idea. In her perfect “Why-is-she right-so much-of-the-time?” way, she said, “Dad, you know it’d be a lot more fun to be in Florida with the boys. Keeping them entertained in New Orleans would be work. They’ll stay entertained in Florida.” So we canceled the NOLA AirB&B with plenty of time to spare and booked one in Kissimmee instead, nestled between Universal (Harry Potter), Cape Canaveral (Disneyland for daddies), Gainesville (where Joanna learned to be an acupuncturist), and the amazing limestone springs of north Florida. It was ideal.

Being the wonderful grandparents we are … and Joanna being the wonderful aunt she is … we left Allie and Mike on their own on Tuesday for Universal and Harry Potter. We wanted nothing to do with it! 

The boys loved it, starting with having a magic wand select them at Diagon Alley (or, as the week’s feeble family humor had it, was that actually Diagon Allie?  Or perhaps just diagonally?) Regardless, they were in heaven despite their exhaustion, as were we, thanks to a complete absence of exhaustion.

Joanna had planned to arrive on Wednesday, but high winds and travel advisories in Boston gave her an excuse to get in a day early. Great for cooking, swimming, and the obligatory round of Florida miniature golf, where Mike and Ronan both aced the infamous Butt Hole. Elliott managed a few aces too, but he wiped out on the Butt Hole.

The now-infamous “Butt Hole.” Hit the crack at a moderate speed: automatic hole-in-one. BRILLIANT!

Miniature golf in a town as vanilla as Kissimmee seems essential.

Canaveral and NASA

Thursday was Daddy heaven: a full day at Cape Canaveral starting with a Space X launch minutes after we arrived, a first for all seven of us. The cloud cover was thick, but NASA offered an assist by virtue of a very large split-screen TV. The viewing crowd of only a few hundred roared the countdown. The blast-off was blindingly bright even if, in our case, it only lasted a few seconds because of the cloud cover. Moments after the blast-off, a cloud of smoke rose from the launch pad. Then the sound enveloped us: a growing roar that has no equivalent I can think of. It just keeps getting louder until it peaks, and then it slowly disappears. Man, that is a lot of energy!

Launch Viewing

A few minutes into the flight, the rocket jettisoned its launch stage, which fell back to earth. On the right screen, we watched the payload of 23 Starlink satellites make its way to space. On the left screen, we watched the launch stage return home, complete with all of the telemetry. (Thanks, NASA!)

The launch stage fell freely for a while, picking up more and more speed. Then its rockets fired and it began to slow. Then its parachutes deployed, and it lost more speed. Then its rockets fired again as it landed perfectly on the target painted on the barge anchored near Puerto Rico. “Now that is some real rocket science,” said Allie. “Aw, no big deal,” said the guy next to me, “it looked like they were off by a meter or so.”  I am still in a state of awe!

Thanks again for the split screen and telemetry, NASA!!!!

By then, we had been at Canaveral for maybe 45 minutes. It felt like a glorious lifetime. 

From the launch, we went to the new Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit. I’ve been to the Canaveral Visitor Center twice before. There is no limit to the number of times I could go and not tire of it. The Space Shuttle Simulator is like one of the coolest things ever. The first time I went, decades ago, I fell in love with the simulator.  The second time, 7 or 8 years ago, the simulator was everything that I remembered it to be … plus NASA had moved the Shuttle Atlantis … the first shuttle ever to fly … to Canaveral. We saw it standing next to the building that would become the Atlantis Exhibit Hall, but we couldn’t get close to it.

This time, the layout of the whole place had changed thanks to the new hall.  The curation of the Shuttle Program is un-freaking-believable. (Sorry, that is as articulate as I can get.) First, there is a short video of the daring birth of the shuttle program: a re-usable rocket that would take humans to space and return them to earth, where it would glide in for a landing. No way!!!!

Then a second room and second video, this one showing the failures and successes that finally led to the successful launch of Atlantis. Then the room goes dark. The projection screen scrim opens, and OMG!!!! Right there!!!! Feet from you!!!! The Space Shuttle Atlantis!!!!

Not a model. The real deal. Inches from your face. What a moment!!!!!

After the shock wears off, there is endless brilliantly created interpretive material … and then the Shuttle Simulator! My third time. I’m ready to go back tomorrow. Shuttle astronauts talk you through the experience. (They say it is a realistic simulation of a shuttle launch.) You strap into a seat in a pod in the Shuttle’s cargo bay. The pod tilts 90˚ so you are on your back. The engines start shortly after the countdown clock passes 10 seconds. At zero, the shuttle lifts off. The roar is deafening; the vibration could loosen fillings; I have no clue how they make it feel like G-forces are stronger, but they do. Then the first stage jettisons. The vibrations and roar diminish. The final stage jettisons. The vibrations and noise turn into total peaceful silence. The shuttle bay doors open to the infinite sky of bright stars broken up only by earth as Florida passes by. I dare anyone to experience that and not cry. It can’t be done!

There are all sorts of other little things to fill the day, like a Lego Mars Rover, the VAB –– Vehicle Assembly Building –– that was, when built, the largest building by volume in the world. (Each star in the flag is 6’ across; each stripe is a highway lane.) And the Apollo/moon landing exhibit, complete with moon rock to touch, and an up-close encounter with a Saturn 5 rocket that just makes you feel very, very small!

The VAB – Vehicle Assembly Building

The exhilaration of the day more than made up for the exhaustion.

OMG!!!! What a wonderful day!

Friday, we piddled. Saturday, Mike flew home and the rest of us drove to Gainesville with a long stop at Silver Springs. We’d hoped to see manatees (especially one of their two new babies), but nature didn’t behave. In fact, we couldn’t even take one of their famous glass-bottom boat tours because of a lightning storm. (At least I saved a little dough.)

Too bad we missed the boat tour and the manatees. Silver Springs … and all of the north Florida limestone springs … is gorgeous!

Joanna gave us the cook’s tour of Gainesville, including endless alligators, birds, and turtles at Sweetwater Wetlands Park (my favorite!) and Depot Park. By the time we left, Allie no longer freaked out at the sight of a wild alligator.  (For those of you who know her, you know that it is a major accomplishment!)

Alligators and soft shell turtles in Gainesville.

From Gainesville, Rebecca and I headed west toward New Orleans. The kids headed home. School vacation week and Part 1 of the Celebration of 75 had gone off as hoped!

Stay tuned.  There’s more to come: Part 2: New Orleans. Part 3: Atlanta. Part 4: The Fireworks (aka total solar eclipse).

Our time with NASA began at Wallop’s Island near Chincoteague, Virginia, home of the famous wild ponies. Yes. That is an original Mercury capsule on the left. It was tested at Wallops. I can’t get enough of that stuff!

Our “lagniappe” (special extra) in Florida was a meal with Katie and Mary Jo. Katie had been Allie’s boss at Ozone House in Ann Arbor. Mary Jo was Joanna’s boss when she worked as a food coordinator for Washtenaw County Michigan. Mary Jo and Katie became mentors, real friends, and family. They just happened to be in the Orlando area when we were. I cooked up a pot of shrimp etouffee (can’t get enough local shrimp!), and we spent a spectacular evening together. It’s hard to get your fill of really good people and really good friends!