These malls turned out to be nothing special and it is a measure of much the UK has caught up with retail parks that these outlet malls were not much bigger than the likes of Braehead or the Fort. The clothes here were cheaper than the stores but there wasn't too much of a difference between what you would pay back home. The best bargains to be found are on deals such as 3 for 2 etc and we did manage to pick up a couple of pairs of trainers each for under £20. Anyway enough of the boring stuff!
As we mentioned in the Houston post we deceided against going to the NASA space centre there in favour of the Kennedy Space centre here. We also quite fancied going out on one of the airboats that took us through the famous alligator infested Florida swamplands. Luckily there was a tour company that combined the both.
It was an early start having to leave the hotel at around 7:15am and it was overcast and cold due to the previous nights torrential rain and numerous thunder storms. We didn't really give it too much thought apart from the fact that we would be freezing all day. We were given the itinerary on the bus and realised that we would be doing the swamp tour first.
We were dropped off at the river and it was still baltic and overcast. After waiting around 15 minutes the tour in front of us came back. It was then we realised the significance of the weather as they had failed to see any alligators as we learned that they only surface when it is sunny. We were worried that the tour was going to be a waste of money. We jumped in anyway and thought at least it would be cool to go out on the boat through the swamps.
It started off pretty good although there was no sight of any alligators. Around 5 minutes in we stopped near a cow and lying beside it was a baby calf that we were told was no more than 10 hours old. We can only imagine what that must have been thinking after it was just born through all the thunder and lightning storms through the night and now it was lying in alligator infested swamps. It was a bit sick but we were hoping this would be good bait to bring the alligators out!
After moving on the sun came out and with it brought the gators. The first one that we spotted was one of the biggest males that will be found in Florida, around 12ft. As we were sitting looking at this one, another gator swam out in front of our boat before we moved on, they were starting to surface and were appearing all over the place. We then spotted one of the smaller females before coming across another huge male and its smaller female partner. The trip turned out to be realy good for us and there are a few videos of the airboat and the gators that you can find by clicking here. It was great to see them in their natural habitat and pleasing to hear that they are not endangered due to their huge numbers in the area.
From here it was time to get back on the bus and head for the Kennedy Space Centre. This was something I was really looking forward to and it was made even better with the news that there was a shuttle sitting on the launch pad that is scheduled to head into space in May. Kennedy manages and operates America's astronaut launch facilities, currently serving as the base for the country's three space shuttles.
The tour started with a quick stop at the US Astronaut Hall of Fame. This features the world's largest collection of personal astronaut memorabilia, particularly focusing on those astronauts who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, as well as Sigma 7, the fourth manned Mercury spacecraft. The Sigma 7, the Mercury spacecraft piloted by Wally Schirra orbited the Earth six times in 1962. It was amazing how close we were able to get to this spacecraft. The spacesuit worn by astronaut Gus Grissom during Mercury 4 is also on display.
After the hall of fame centre it was back on the bus and we headed for the actual space centre. It is really well set up and due to the vast area it is spread out over there is a shuttle bus needed to transport people through the complex. The first stop on the shuttle was the Launch Complex 39 Observation Gantry.
On the way here we passed by the huge Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). It is the fourth-largest structure in the world by volume and the largest one-story building in the world. The building is that big that it has had to have extensive air conditioning equipment installed as on humid days rain clouds will form inside the building and it can rain inside! The building is used to assemble the space shuttle and attach the fuel rockets and the shuttle together before it is transported to 1 of the 2 launch pads.
At the observation gantry there is an engine that has been used on 3 shuttles. It was used over an 8 year period on 15 seperate flights before being retired. It is the most complex unit ever developed and the first designed to be reused. This engine can generate 375,000lbs (179,000kgs) of thrust power and it takes 3 to enable a shuttle to take off. From the top of the tower we were able to see the Space Shuttle Atlantis due to take off in May.
Next stop on the tour was the Apollo/Saturn V centre. This museum is built around its centerpiece exhibit, a restored Saturn V launch vehicle. This 363-foot Saturn V rocket, the most powerful rocket ever built, produces more than 7.5 million pounds of thrust upon blastoff and it is huge! The museum is designed to tell the story of NASA's Apollo lunar program. It features lots of great exhibits including space suits, shuttles, a moon buggy and an actual piece of moon rock that we got to touch! The moon fragment was collected by astronauts on the Apollo 17 mission and is porous, formed from cooled lava. It is estimated to be 3.7 billion years old and is older than 99.9% of the earths surface rock. What we got to touch was only around the size of a 2p coin and it was smooth and looked and felt a little bit like lead. The final stop of the tour was the International Space Centre Station where modules for the International Space Station are tested however we didn't have much time here so we didn't get to see too much.
We wanted to get back to the main visitor centre where they had 2 key things we wanted to check out. The first was a Shuttle Launch Experience simulator. This is a simulator that lets people experience first hand what a shuttle launch is like as it tilts you back and simulates the G-Force that astronauts feel. The next was a 3D IMAX film about the Hubble Telescope narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio which was excellent as it took you on a journey through space.
All in all we had a great day but there is just too much to do here and a second day is required to see everything and we would recommend the tour to anyone coming to Florida.
No comments:
Post a Comment