By GEORGE FJELD
We thought we took a wrong turn! On the map it looked like a housing development, however the roads were anything but developed! Straight cuts through the brush and trees, they were sandy potholed lanes barely wider than Bull, the truck. Bean, the camper trailer, bounced along behind, wobbling from side to side. Other than a few small houses, we didn’t see many signs of life. “Should we turn around?” a worried Carol asked. “This is where the directions said to go,” I retorted. A couple more turns brought us to the big discarded tractor tire where we were to turn into the site destined to be our camp for the next couple of nights. Honestly, it looked like a jungle, complete with a high tree canopy, vines hanging and large broad leaf underbrush. I thought we might see Tarzan swinging from one of those vines. I think this is what Florida looked like before we Disneyfied it. Sandy soil and vegetation everywhere. However, there were signs of human life, a newish car, a huge fire pit and a couple of half-finished shacks. “Maybe we made a mistake,” I said to Carol. But she responded “We’re here. Let’s check it out.”
The ground was irregular, layered with matted leaves and occasional debris from a wide variety of prior visitors and half-hearted attempts at construction. Tarps, tires, 2×4’s, and piles of salvaged materials were scattered around, but mostly it was jungle. Over next to the car, we realized there was a man looking at us! “Park anywhere,” he said. “There’s better sunlight over there if you’re counting on solar,” he pointed out. Glancing around, I hardly saw a break in the canopy of large trees. We should be good for a couple of nights, even if we don’t get any sunlight, I thought. We picked a spot, fairly level and not too close to the bushes and piles, free of any obvious snakes or biting insects, and proceeded to set up for the evening. That didn’t take long, thankfully. A quick dinner and a good night’s sleep thanks to Bean and we were ready for our next adventure.
An early start got us to the opening of the gate of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in plenty of time to get Milo the dog set up in the on-site kennel. He wasn’t too happy to be there but it was better than a potentially too hot camper. Comforted that he would be safe, we returned to the main gate, where we could see a variety of tall rockets off to our left. It looked like a good place to start. They call it the rocket garden, and it is filled with actual rockets (really the backup rockets) for many US space missions. The rocket that took Alan Shepard and the Mercury space capsule into space but not earth orbit is surprisingly small. The capsule, a model of which is in the garden to try to get into, is TINY! I felt folded in half, with my head hitting the ceiling and my legs flexed so my knees almost touched my chin to squeeze into that capsule. I’m glad nobody was filming the gyrations needed to get my 5’ 11” frame out of that space. Those astronauts were smaller, younger, and more flexible than me.
The highlight of the visit for me was the Saturn V rocket. It is stored inside a huge building designed for it and the memorabilia from the Apollo missions. This huge machine lifted all the Apollo missions and Skylab, the first space station, into earth orbit. It was capable of lifting 311,152 pounds of men and equipment into space. My dad helped design the gyroscope that steered this massive rocket to its target. I remember the final model of the gyroscope was about 2 inches high and an inch across. Amazing that something that small could keep a huge rocket like this on a very precise course. The Saturn V was designed by Wernher von Braun, the same man that Brandon’s Dick Kirby met while welding for the military. The Apollo 14 command module looked large compared to the Gemini capsule I had squeezed into earlier. Both of them carried Alan Shepard into space.
Next, we headed to the Shuttle Launch Experience were we were belted into seats and told to hang on by former shuttle commander Charles F. Bolden in a pre-recorded show. You’re treated to a shaking seat and the visually immersive experience of a shuttle launch. Astronauts say it’s just like the real thing including an expansive view of the earth from space. Another experience, The Journey to Mars: Explorers Wanted show is more futuristic. From your seat, the wall in front of you opens and the floor falls away and you experience a high speed flight through the mountains and canyons of Mars. You find yourself hanging on as your chair tips ever so slightly forward then right and left in conjunction with the dynamic movie. I found this particularly engaging, the visuals alone were worth the price of admission.
After a visit to the gift shop, we collected Milo, who was very glad to see us, and headed back to our camper in the jungle. I’ll let Bean tell you her story: Wow, this is surely a change! Sooo much better than that driveway in South Carolina. This place is Green and Lush! So beautiful and undeveloped. Although I was alone, it was really peaceful and serene. I just love nature. I hope they take me to more places like this. I overheard them talking about their trip to some space place. I even think they saw my famous cousin (made by Airstream) that ferried the astronauts to the launch pad for their trip to the moon. She’s famous back at the factory! Maybe I can go and meet her next time. I’m really glad we came here, it’s been so nice.
