{"id":5687,"date":"2014-05-28T11:19:39","date_gmt":"2014-05-28T17:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/?p=5687"},"modified":"2014-05-28T14:43:39","modified_gmt":"2014-05-28T20:43:39","slug":"3-reasons-must-visit-kennedy-space-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/?p=5687","title":{"rendered":"3 Reasons You MUST Visit the Kennedy Space Center"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kennedy<\/a>

The ORIGINAL Atlantis Space Shuttle<\/a>. This thing has been to Space 33 times!!!<\/p><\/div>\n

It melted my heart tonight. \u00a0My (almost) three year old son tonight told me something as we loaded up in the car to run a few errands. \u00a0His focus normally lasts about 4 seconds, and he is on to the next thing. \u00a0He seems to forget things like his old man, but this memory must have stuck. \u00a0He said, “I want to be astronaut daddy. \u00a0I want to fly in a rocket.” \u00a0I knew that I \u00a0had made the right choice in taking him to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.<\/p>\n

\"Ready<\/a>

Max is flying the Atlantis<\/p><\/div>\n

Of all the things that we did on our recent vacation to Florida, the one that stuck the strongest was the Kennedy Space Center. \u00a0It wasn’t DisneyWorld, nor was it SeaWorld. \u00a0The beach didn’t score as high, nor did the swimming pool. \u00a0His souvenir Atlantis space shuttle has been to the moon and back with all of the mileage that he has put on the shuttle since the Eagle landed at home again.<\/p>\n

Not only was the Kennedy Space Center memorable for my son, but it was for me too. \u00a0It was probably the best thing that we did on the trip. \u00a0The history, patriotism, and sheer determination that the whole department is out of this world (knee slap). \u00a0Here are three BIG reasons you need to visit this important location:<\/p>\n

1. Patriotism-<\/h2>\n

Look. \u00a0I was born in the 80’s. \u00a0I wasn’t around when Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong made the maiden voyage to the Moon. \u00a0Many of you weren’t either. \u00a0Neither did I participate in the feelings of competing agains the Soviets in the race to the moon. \u00a0 \u00a0 The history has become part of our nation. \u00a0If you’re like me, and you didn’t enjoy those early space moments, you probably don’t know much about them. \u00a0It is worth researching and learning about the history behind our space exploration.<\/p>\n

\"Apollo<\/a>

This is the Saturn V. You can’t really realize this size of this thing until you see it.<\/p><\/div>\n

They’ve done an excellent job at adding a patriotic feel to the presentations. \u00a0Some of JFK’s quotes are cited in a few of the video clips and by the end of the presentation you’re about to bust out your best version of “God Bless America.” \u00a0(Everyone around me better be glad that I refrained.) \u00a0Visiting the Center will deepen your appreciation for your country and give you a better appreciation for those who gave their lives in pursuit of space travel.<\/p>\n

2. NASA isn’t an acronym for Nerdy Astronaut Science Aspirer-<\/h2>\n

Being from Idaho, it’s not like too many kids in my first grade class worked at NASA. I remember some kids in elementary school who wore NASA shirts and always talked about math problems that I still couldn’t solve. \u00a0I felt like they were dorks, but really they were smart. \u00a0It’s cool stuff to learn about the physics, science, and marvel that goes into space travel.<\/p>\n

Obviously you’re not going to spend a day there and receive your Masters Degree in Astrophysics, but you will learn a lot about tons of cool stuff. \u00a0That is one of the big reasons that I enjoy traveling. \u00a0Here’s one to try on for size. \u00a0They build the rockets and shuttles in one building, not on the launch pad. \u00a0Do you know how they move the precious cargo from the assembly to the launch pad? \u00a0 Here’s a hint: \u00a0They don’t throw it in the back of a Ford F-150. \u00a0They have a couple of crawlers that span the distance of a major interstate highway and take up both sides. \u00a0See the picture below:<\/p>\n

\"KSC\"<\/a>

This is the road that the crawler takes (both sides).<\/p><\/div>\n

Yeah, so they have to have two of these things that travel at the same snail speed taking the loaded rocket to the launch pad 39. \u00a0Did you notice that the “Slowway” wasn’t paved with asphalt, but it was made of rocks? \u00a0Didn’t you throw rocks as a kid and they’d spark when they hit the ground? \u00a0Can you imagine tons of sparks with a rocket loaded with fuel? \u00a0Probably would last as long as a Britney Spears marriage. \u00a0Those rocks are special rocks that won’t ever spark regardless of the pressure put on them. \u00a0Cool, right?<\/p>\n

\"Space<\/a>

Launch Pad 39<\/p><\/div>\n

3. \u00a0The Kennedy Space Center is half the price as DisneyWorld-<\/h2>\n
\"The<\/a>

A Moon Rock<\/p><\/div>\n

You won’t be surprised to learn that I trembled when someone told me the entrance was $50 per person. \u00a0I shutter at the cost of everything, so this was no exception. \u00a0That’s why we have this blog. \u00a0I was bummed at the entrance fee, but a few of the family members who went with us shamed me for feeling that way. \u00a0They explained that I had been willing to pay $100 to DisneyWorld, but wouldn’t shell out $50 for this?<\/p>\n

In the end, they were right, and I was glad that they encouraged me to go. \u00a0Plus it was awesome when I came back from the trip and actually used my Barclaycard Arrival Points to offset the cost of the entrance fee<\/a>, so it was really just parking that we had to pay for a day of excitement.<\/p>\n

We spent almost as much time at the Kennedy Space Center as we did at DisneyWorld. \u00a0There is a ton to see, and I could have really spent another day at the KSC. \u00a0They’ve got a lot of history there and tons of information if you’ve got the time to read each of the displays. Toting around two children under 3 usually results in stopping them from setting off another rocket.<\/p>\n

Basically this place is a MUST see.\u00a0 If this doesn’t start pumping 4th of July feelings into your bloodstream, then maybe you should renounce your citizenship.\u00a0 This place is definitely worth the drive, and easily worth the entrance fee.\u00a0 Have you been to the Kennedy Space Center?\u00a0 Did you enjoy your visit?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Enhanced<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It melted my heart tonight. \u00a0My (almost) three year old son tonight told me something as we loaded up in the car to run a few errands. \u00a0His focus normally lasts about 4 seconds, and he is on to the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1644,1640,1643,1893,1635,1645,1638,1641,1639,1642],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5687"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5687\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}