Standing Up to Life

Chapter 25:

IN THE MORNING we were prodded out of bed and herded to an area where they had a continental breakfast for us. We each had a bag with us this morning that had our swimsuits in them since we were going to go to the beach when we got done with going to Space Camp and Kennedy Space Center.

That day I had dressed in a pair of girls shorts and a guy's shirt that could have been a girls. It was actually the ski resort shirt that Amy's parents had bought me on that trip. Essentially there really was no way that someone could tell I was a boy today. Amy and I had both used a black ponytail holder to put our hair up that morning – we were far too tired to do more.

We all gathered together in the lobby when we were done eating to board the bus that would be taking us everywhere now. It was awesome getting on this bus – it had TV's, comfortable seats that leaned back, and even had a bathroom! The bus driver was also really cool and we all settled in for the drive.

I'll be honest; this was the part of the trip that I had been looking forward to the most. I had wanted to go to Space Camp for several summers since I had learned about it. My parents could never possibly afford to send me though, so this would be my one chance to see everything they had there.

The first part of our tour allowed several of us to try some equipment that let us experience how inertia could send us out of control very easily. It was a lot of fun! Amy and Kyle both tried out another simulator that let you feel what a flat spin would be like. I had no desire to go on that one and get sick!

We were shown a bunch of different science experiments and given a short tour of a shuttle mockup that the space camp attendees were able to run shuttle missions through. I was really disappointed that none of us were able to give that one a try.

After a long tour, that I found to be a blast, we were shown to another shuttle simulator that gave us an idea of what a passenger version of the space shuttle might be like. It was a neat experience that concluded our tour. The tour guide then led us into the store where I looked around for some souvenirs.

I ended up picking up a girl's t-shirt and a couple postcards to take home. I also couldn't resist the freeze-dried ice cream. Amy and Nikki both followed my lead on those items before we all went to find a bathroom. Once again, I felt some strange looks on my back as I went into the boys' bathroom. I really wished I could just use the girls!

We left from there a little while later and drove over to Kennedy Space Center. At Kennedy we were given a science demonstration with things like the shuttle's tiles having a blow torch used on them, among other things. From there we got to go on a tour of their museum – seeing some really cool things like the command modules and space suits.

Then they led us to the outdoor area where the rocket garden was located. We all just kind of wandered around aimlessly looking at the massive rockets that towered over us. It was easily enough to keep your imagination in overdrive. Our last structured stop at Kennedy, before lunch, was to the memorial for fallen astronauts. Even at our age we were all moved by the gravity of the memorial. I definitely felt like those astronauts deserved to have their names memorialized for their efforts to bring us to space.

By that point all of our stomachs were seriously growling, thankfully we were taken to a café to eat a lunch of burgers or hot dogs. Amy and I ate quickly so we could grab a cup of "space dots" for dessert before going to see an IMAX film about a shuttle launch. The IMAX film was probably one of the cooler moments of the visit – even though I wasn't expecting it to be as cool as it was. The huge screen combined with the huge sound was a great way to experience a shuttle launch!

We had about thirty minutes inside the gift shop there where we all bought a couple things. I purchased a couple patches, some pencils and pens, and a few more postcards. I had my eyes on one of the space pens that you could write with upside down, but my parents talked me out of that purchase. We ended up leaving Kennedy at about 2:30 for Cocoa Beach.