Trip to Florida

Okay, here goes. Our first photo/vacation blog! A month ago we took a 5 day trip to Orlando and went to see that big-eared mouse and his Kingdom. What a great place - we had a blast. I've run the pics through and shrunk them down to more manageable size - hopefully they'll load quickly for you. I have full-size (ie several megabytes) versions available if you want one for your own use, just email me. Here goes!

First stop after getting off the red-eye from Seattle was a trip to Kennedy Space Center. I've always wanted to go, ever since I saw the first Space Shuttle launch in '81 with my dad. Turns out I'd been there before, when I was 6 months old, back in 1973. That doesn't count, in my book. And besides, the Apollo program ended 1 month before I was born. What a sight that would have been, to see the mighty Saturn V moonrocket, compliments of good 'ol Werner von Braun and his peeps. Today, the once massive launch complex at pad 39A is now a shadow of its former self, barely taller than the 'puny' Space Shuttle. Yes, that's a real Space Shuttle - not some fakeout in a Hollywood basement. I think it's Atlantis, which had its mission scrubbed a few weeks ago when the Hubble telescope threw a fart and shut down unexpectedly. For comparison, the Space Shuttle isn't even half as tall as Apollo once stood. And that was 40 years ago. And what have we achieved since then? Frequently lost luggage and stupid GPS locators. But I digress. Here's a panorama I stitched of the two pads, 39A (left, original Apollo pad) and 39B (where the Challenger launched for the final time; now under complete renovation for the new Ares moon rocket scheduled for launch in a few years). The perspective is from about 3/4 mile in between the two of them - hopefully you can see them, but I'm not sure you can.

As for that vaunted Apollo rocket, there are 3 left that never made it into space, after the program was cancelled (something or other about changing national priorities...) One is here at KSC; can you name the other 2 sites? Anyway, here are the second stage engines. Second stage! Okay, enough, I'm sure you're thinking. On with the rest of the show.
Next day we finally made it to the non-rocket scientist part of the trip. For sake of my witty commentary, they're not in order. I'm not sure you'd notice anyway.
See, here we are. How many people do you see around us (not counting that one guy pointing)? Mid September is a great time to go - kids are in school and it's still plenty hot, so no lines. One of our first rides was It's a Small World - everyone's favorite! Let's all sing the song together - come on, you all know it!
Okay, it's a bad ride that's seriously dated, which is why I think it remains so appealing. I absolutely dig the waay-retro kitsch and 1950's abstract art design that make up the decor. I bet you had no idea I knew anything about retro kitsch decor. Well lemme tell you.... Okay, on with the tour. When I was 10, we came here on a family trip, and one of my favorite places was TomorrowWorld, with all its future (again, ala 1950's) rides and moving sidewalks and stuff.
Here you can see (what was once called) the WedWay PeopleMover, now called something like the Slow Tram sponsored by Doritos or something like that. It goes, well, nowhere, just a big loop around TomorrowWorld. But hey, when you're 10, it's all good. Behind it all is part of the orbital spire of some rocket-pod ride that moves in a circle like the Dumbo ride. Dumbo for the Space Age, I guess. Anyway, when I was 10, I rode it with my younger brother Cisco, and it scared the living ^$%&* out of me. To this day, 25 years and 2 trips later, I still haven't been back on it. But I'm okay with that. And finally, no trip to TomorrowWorld is complete without the requisite scream-a-thon inside Space Mountain. Fun? Yes. Dark? Double yes. Scary? Not at all, as long as there's no food in your stomach. Highly recommended. Moving across the park to FrontierWorld (or was it AdventureWorld?) is the very sedate jungle cruise, where you, too, can witness exotic animatronic wildlife on safari. At least before Animal Kingdom opened up. I'm told that if you look closely enough inside the hippo's mouth, you might see a whole bunch of little white marbles....Nearby is a constant favorite, the Runaway Train, or Frontier Train, or Mine Train, or something - for the life of me I can't remember what it's called at this very moment.
It's really a lot of fun - it doesn't go very fast, but has a lot of tight twists and sudden drops. At one point you think you're going to hit a ledge. I think those kids in front of us thought so.... Okay, on with the tour. In quick succession, the Hall of Presidents, where all 43 presidents (not the real ones) stand up and talk about what they did last summer. It's actually pretty neat, in a weird election-year kind of way. And here's a quick snapshot of the 'cemetery' at the 'Haunted House.' Look, I have a relative! Lastly, before we move on, we made a valiant attempt to answer that age old question, "How fast can two adults spin the teacup in the Mad Hatter's barf-o-rama?" Well, let me tell you. Pretty darn fast. I've never been motion sick in my life, but this time was pretty close. You know when you get that feeling, when the blood leaves your eyeballs and pools in the back of your head? Yeah, that one. It might be a while before we hit this one again. Meanwhile, Kathy was laughing too hard to get sick. Either that, or she was trying to stay as still as possible for fear of death. Enough, on with the best part of our trip. It's too bad Walt Disney's vision for his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow has been hijacked by modern-day commercialism. Let me tell you, when I came for the first time when I was 10, it was very different. Or at least it seems that way. Where did the robots and flying cars go? They should have been here by now. At least there's still a monorail. When I was 10, I wanted to be a monorail driver - I was sure it was the best job in the world. Don't laugh; one day I'll retire from the Navy and I'll be looking for work. Think about it - you don't have to collect exact change from riders, there's little to no chance of making a wrong turn into a bad 'hood, and I'm already used to wearing a uniform to work every day. EPCOT really is a very amazing place, and with a camera in hand, WATCHOUT! There is no shortage of great viewpoints for taking photos, be it across the 'lagoon' or straight up at the famous Spaceship Earth - Disney's great monument (and even better ride) devoted to really tall golfers. Perhaps my ninth-grade Geometry teacher would have appreciated this, something to do with somekindahedrons or other. I've seen it many times, but it's impossible to take your eyes off it. At least there are a few fun rides to take your mind off the geometric hurt-your-eyes-o-sphere. One of the fun ones is the Mission to Mars, where you're spun in a real centrifuge to simulate g-forces on a pretend trip to Mars. Slightly hokey but definitely convincing - waay better than the teacups. Nextdoor is Test Track sponsored by GM (buyers, anyone?) It puts you in a 'car' which takes you through a 'test track' from hell. (Insert Dr. Evil's quotation gesture here.) At least the ride ends with a 70 mph sling down a long track with banked curves - one of the best 15 seconds you'll spend in all of Florida, I tell you. No really, these are fun rides. And there are a few more (California Soarin' and Spaceship Earth) which didn't make the final cut here.
But, really, the real reason we came to EPCOT was to come back to the World Showcase. Having lived around the world (and actually been to 9 of the 11 countries represented - okay, I counted the USA), I have to say it was a little disappointing, but yet entirely comforting and familiar, to work our way around these countries. Yes, stereotypes make us feel better about ourselves, and these 'countries' are stereotypes dressed to the nines. But c'mon, it is Disney after all! At least the food was phenomenal, which was the real real REAL reason we came back. Sad? Not really. Good? Most definitely. Most definitely. Our first lunch was in Germany, where we ate lots of meat things, drank OPEC-sized barrels of beer, and the entertainment showed off how well they know the Ricola tune. Fun was had by all. Dinner came via Morocco, where I felt compelled to see if a Fez made me look mean or just dorky. I don't believe Moroccan's smirk much, though. As for dinner, I had lamb with couscous which was quite delicious. Quite delicious. We spent some time talking with one of the Moroccans there about Alsina family origins from Spain. He agreed with me that the word Alsina might have Moorish ancestry, although there seems to be no meaning of Al-Sina in modern Arabic. He wrote our name in Arabic nonetheless, just in case we need it for Scrabble. As for the rest of this picture tour, a few more pics from around the 'world':
China:
Italy: which looks suspiciously a lot like this picture I took in the real Italy:
Japan:France:
A word about France. This is our favorite. There's no 'ride' in France, but instead a drop-dead gorgeous movie titled Les Impressions de France, which for 22 minutes completely mesmerizes you with amazing imagery from Paris, Burgundy, the Loire Valley, Normandy, etc etc, along with completely enchanting music from Saint Sains, Debussy, and a few other French composers. Call me francophile if you wish, but if you haven't seen it, you're missing out. It literally was the last thing we did before we left the park and drove to the airport.
And last but not least, a view of USA, Italy, and Japan across the lagoon:
Well, it's finally time to close this travelog. These final shots show how beautiful EPCOT becomes in the evening. If you know me at all, you know I had a lot of fun taking these. The final picture in the sequence is in the last entry from a few weeks ago - I chose not to upload it twice. I hope you've enjoyed this. Until next time.