We Are Clear For Launch...FINALLY!

We FINALLY got to see the STS-122 Atlantis Space Shuttle Launch this afternoon. It was originally scheduled for December 6th. Titusville was a ZOO! We paid $20.00 to park next to the river and watch the launch. We were both a little disappointed. It wasn't nearly as loud or thunderous as we were told it would be. The coolest part was when it disappeared behind the clouds and the came back out the top. (See 2nd photo) We both decided that we would only go back to see another if it were a night launch. Lo & behold, on the way back to Brooksville I checked my email and I find out that STS-123 Endevour Shuttle Launch is scheduled for March 11th at 2:31 a.m. Guess we may be going back there next month. A night launch just has to be an awesome sight! We are calling Kennedy Space Center tomorrow to see about getting tickets to view the launch inside the Space Center complex.

Brooksville, FL

We will be moving to Brooksville this Sunday. We went there yesterday to pick up our mail at Morrie & Dixie's. This beautiful bird was perched on their dock. I've since identified it as an Anhinga (aka: Snakebird Darter and Water Turkey). We've gone to Pine Island a couple of times to a beach on the Gulf. The first time we saw an eagle perched on a tall, dead tree and got several pictures of it. The second time we saw some dolphins, but they did not jump out of the water at all, I only got pictures of the fin. We are going to go on a Dolphin Cruise from Clearwater. They go out in the Gulf for 1 1/2 hours and guarantee that you will see dolphins. I should be able to get some great pictures then. We have been thoroughly enjoying the wonderful weather. This IS the life!

A Golden Sunset on the Gulf of Mexico

We went to a Citrus County Park on the Gulf of Mexico when we left Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park yesterday. Here is a picture of the golden sunset that we watched. Just another day in paradise!

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

We spent most of the day yesterday at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. Above are just 3 of the 400 pictures I took there. The 1st is an eagle in front of Old Glory, the 2nd is me petting a snake and the 3rd is a pair of flamingos. You will notice who was NOT petting the snake and was (for once) behind the camera. :-) We had a great time there and we saw alligators, a huge rhino, manatees, a panther, several types of birds, bears, several owls, etc. It was fascinating to see so many birds and animals in one place. They also had several shows that were very informative. I would highly recommend this place to anyone that is in this area. I wish we could have taken Connor & Jillian there, but there just wasn't enough time. Maybe next year!

We've been hanging around the campground quite a bit. We went to Winter Haven last Friday to visit with Bob's cousins. This Friday we are going to a huge RV show in Tampa with Richard & Joanne. I just have to check Bob's pockets before we go to make sure he doesn't have the title for the 5th wheel with him. :-) If we aren't too tired after the show we plan to go to the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa to do a little gambling.

We are moving to Brooksville, FL on February 3rd. Our friends, Morrie & Dixie, are there and we finally got into the park there. If the woman in the office had a clue about what she is doing we could have been there this month. We had to go there with Morrie & Dixie and show her that she had lots available that we could fit on. Grrrrrrrr! We've been checking out several parks in the area in case we decide to come back here next year.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Our year hasn't started out too good. Jason and the grandkids left this morning for Michigan. Last night the heater core on our truck blew, so we are staying in Titusville for a couple of extra days until we can get the truck fixed. We really didn't want to try towing the trailer 130 miles and worrying about the truck overheating. We had a fantastic 4 days with the grandkids (AND Jason!) We are totally wore out, but it was well worth it. They had a blast and are not looking forward to going back to snow after swimming in the Atlantic yesterday. I took over 1,000 pictures while they were here. Thank goodness for digital cameras. I burnt 4 discs for Jason last night so he would have a copy of all the pictures. The kids asked me to print them copies of the alligator, snake, space shuttle on the launch pad and Disney for them to take to school. This was certainly a memorable Christmas vacation for them!

Connor & Jillian Have Arrived!

Jason, Connor & Jillian arrived around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. We were so happy to see them! We gave them their Christmas presents and I had made them a card that read on the front:
"Connor & Jillian...now that you are in Florida, what are you going to do?" Their response was, "We are going to Kennedy Space Center and the Atlantic Ocean". Then they opened the card and inside it said, "You're going to:" (below which I had printed pictures of the entrance to Walt Disney World Resort & the entrance to Magic Kingdom). They were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. We spent from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. yesterday at Magic Kingdom. They had so much fun and it was worth every penny just to watch them. I only took 531 pictures yesterday, so it was hard to pick just a couple to post here. Today we went to Daytona Beach so the kids could swim in the ocean and to the Daytona 500 Experience at Daytona International Speedway. Tomorrow and Monday we will be going to the Kennedy Space Center and to Merritt Island and Canaveral National Seashore. Tuesday morning they will leave for Michigan and we will be heading across the state to Spring Hill, FL for 3 months.

We had a nice Christmas dinner at Bob's cousins. It was pretty laid back and just didn't seem the same without the grandkids around. It's always been so much fun watching them at Christmastime. That's alright...once they arrived here Thursday we had all the Christmas we needed!

On a serious note, my Dad fell in the bedroom Christmas night and broke his shoulder blade. He was in the hospital and today they moved him to a rehab facility for a couple of months. It's a miracle with all the times he has fallen that this was the first time he's broken a bone. Unfortunately the shoulder blade is a bad one that they can't set in a cast or anything and he can't use his walker now. It's going to be very hard on him to not be at home, but they can get him the therapy he needs to get healed.

Rocket Launch from Cape Canaveral AFB

Here's a picture of the rocket launch we watched on Thursday. It was a bit of a disappointment after the one we saw a couple of weeks ago, but still pretty cool.

Yesterday we went to Winter Haven to visit with Bob's cousin, Marlene. We had a great time and she invited us for Christmas dinner. She has to work that day at Disney World, but her nephew will start dinner and we'll bring the rest. So, we're looking forward to another nice visit with her.

Today we made a practice run to Disney World and we were glad we did. Now we know what route we are NOT going to take next Friday!