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Erik & Smisty's Florida Oddventures


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I think this place would be a lot better if they somehow inserted the word 'Children' into their title.

 

It actually looks like an awesome 'Childrens Zoo', just not a 'real' zoo by any means.

 

Did you happen to notice how much of an upcharge the zipline/ropes course was?

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Why were you wearing two different colored shoes?

 

Because Misty suggested that I do so. And, hey, it was my day off. I'm a wacky guy.

 

I think I have to stop reading your reports in front of KT...she demanded to wear two different color shoes today!!!

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I think I have to stop reading your reports in front of KT...she demanded to wear two different color shoes today!!

 

That made my night. I guess this will have to be my thing now.

 

 

This is clearly the next step then....

 

You know...even though what they're saying is rubbish, it's hard to escape the fact that these kids are much better rappers than, say, MC Hammer or Vanilla Ice.

 

And, also, it's a better song than the one Guy posted. ^

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I wonder what happened to George the elephant. They used to let you take rides on him. It was always a little zoo but it seems to have taken a serious downturn in the critter department. More ropes courses around here is good though.

 

Erik, very fun report as always, I look forward to them. Thanks for posting.

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If you're not excited by space exploration, then you have no soul. And also, you may as well stop reading here. In fact, you might want to skip the next couple of updates, as well.

 

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

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Kind of an overcast day when we went. Also, this was taken through a bus window. [More on that later.]

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"Aw, I wanted to park in John Glenn!"

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So, the lady at the ticket booth started chatting us up, asking if we'd ever been before, what we were most interested in, that sort of thing. So we tell her that we came partially for the special Star Trek exhibit they had going on. [Which will be covered in a separate update.] To which she responds, "Oh, that show is for kids! But, I guess you can see it if you want to."

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"Hello? Is this Major Tom?"

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Airport-level security. Note that we will not actually be getting anywhere near, say, the space shuttle. We're gonna go look at some old rockets and space memorabilia. I dunno, it just seems a bit...excessive.

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That kid is really excited about the possibility of winning a trip to space.

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Little known fact: Kennedy Space Center was named after President John F. Kennedy, not Lisa Kennedy Montgomery.

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If you like space capsules, you're gonna love this place!

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That's a good name. But what the hell is a "space dot"?

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This tree came from a seed that was carried to the moon and back. Which seems like an awful lot of effort to go to just so you can put up a sign.

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We did not encounter an astronaut. We did, however, see the Star Trek show. [Tune in next time!]

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The Rocket Garden is cool, but a bit "dry" as exhibits go.

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We did not explore this kids play area, but it's got a cool theme.

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"Fountain_1 looks too intense for me."

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The Early Space Exploration building is mostly dedicated to the Aztecs, though the Egyptians do get a couple of mentions here and there.

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I have a joke for this, but I don't want to be sued by NASA.

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A rare (at Kennedy Space Center) Soviet artifact.

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I'm sorry, Misty, but you're a girl.

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One day, I hope somebody parks in me.

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Mission Control

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Hooray for capsules!

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Even on the moon, Smisty doesn't want to drive.

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Nature and Technology is a weird exhibit.

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It's a fake, indoor nature walk with stuffed animals. Which would make sense almost nowhere. But this is at Kennedy Space Center.

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Nice mural.

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Next up is "Exploration Space." Um...Misty, what are you doing?

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Ever the salesmen.

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Lots of interactive stuff here.

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CHOOSE A DANGER

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This is two legs in front of a mirror because they were too cheap to get four legs.

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Weight limit for crew members. Aw, dang!

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"Vehicle"

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From there we are magically transported across the courtyard and into the IMAX building.

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I took a photo of an IMAX movie screen with my phone, then reduced that image to 800x600 for your TPR viewing pleasure. Hopefully, nothing will be lost in translation.

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After the movie (it was about Hubble), it was time for lunch.

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The pizza was dreadful, but the cheeseburger was surprisingly good.

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Space ball. Oh look, a gift shop!

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Today's astronaut is Zzrglxx, from the dark sphere of Septa-Alphinium!

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There's some good stuff in this gift shop (space legos!), there's some bad stuff in this gift shop (um, diapers).

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Okay, The Right Stuff, for sure. Astronaut Farmer and Space Cowboys? I guess. But...Moon?

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Robot Scouts is an interesting exhibit, in that the exhibit itself seems to be fully automated.

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On the other hand, it's so clearly aimed at kids (without that actually being mentioned anywhere) as to be nearly pointless for adults.

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Honestly, we got bored about halfway through the series of presentations and skipped through to the exit.

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So, this is, like, a pretend thing they'd like to build some day if they ever get enough money. I think.

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Since my previous visit here, Kennedy Space Center has built an honest-to-goodness ride!

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Preshow.

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Basically, it's a simulator. Which makes sense. But, it's really not very good. It just sort of tilts you backwards and then shakes the crap out of you. Which may very well be a completely accurate recreation of what it's like to launch in a space shuttle, but isn't very fun. There is a nice bit at the end, where the doors above you open to reveal the Earth, but that's not enough to make me want to ride it again.

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It has a cool exit ramp, though.

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There's a gift shop at the end. But what they really need at the end is benches.

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This is a replica of a space shuttle. Though I suppose they'll be getting a proper one soon enough--when it comes right down to it, would you really know the difference?

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You take these ramps up to get inside of it.

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These accurate-but-wacky signs are arranged all along the ramps.

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The cargo bay.

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The, um, front bit. PUSH A DANGER BUTTON.

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The Mission Status Center is probably going to be pretty boring now. Because we were there while the last shuttle mission was still in space, and the Mission Status Center was pretty boring then.

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I took this photo. Then we left.

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The Space Mirror Memorial, dedicated to the US astronauts who died while being astronauts. And, also, one Israeli.

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There's also a guy on there who died flying a jet, and who wasn't actually an astronaut. But I guess he knew a guy.

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Here's a money-saving tip for anyone thinking about going to Kennedy Space Center in the future. :OP

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You know, I hate to complain. It was very nice of the guy to take our photo for us. But could this be anymore crooked?

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A pretty good overview of the Visitor Complex. Mid-left, you can see the buses that take you out on the various tours that are offered. [but more on that in a future update.]

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The road out from Kennedy Space Center. Yeah, it's only barely relevant. But it's a gorgeous picture by Misty, don't you think?

 

There will be more from Kennedy Space Center. But that's the Visitor Complex.

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^ It's very nostalgia-based. Nothing that's happening now is all that exciting compared to what was going on 40 or 50 years ago. If someone can't get through The Right Stuff, I wouldn't take them there.

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^Come to think of it, the Space Center is the first place I ever saw gators outside of a zoo. They just swam around the canals there, hoping that someone would toss them food, I guess--such as hot dogs, fries, small children, etc.

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We take the kids (they are now teenagers) to the space center every few years. They just love the place. We have no problem with them staying interested from opening to closing. It's a change of pace from the usual theme parks. The trip next month though will be Busch Gardens Tampa, Seaworld and Universal. Try to mix it up!

 

Jim

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As mentioned in our last update, one of the reasons we chose to go to Kennedy Space Center this summer was in order to see...

 

Star Trek: The Exhibition

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There was a woman captain, too, wasn't there? Eh, must've been my imagination.

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There was a line. And it was an upcharge. Sue me.

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The first of the two main exhibits is in the IMAX theater building.

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This one is dedicated to "classic" Trek. (That means Kirk and Spock for you non-this-kind-of-nerdiness-types.)

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KHAAAAAAN!!!

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These items are behind glass because they are dangerous weapons.

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Obviously, I don't need to tell you which episode this is from.

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That's *captain* dumbass, to you.

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And while I'm cursing: This kid was a shite navigator.

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Back outside, Smisty tries to figure out how big the Enterprise D is as measured in Saturn V rockets (so she can try to win that free trip to space).

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Kirk has his communicator, I have my space dots.

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And now it's time for Star Trek Live! I'm excited.

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Diabolical preshow trivia, solvable by only the most hardcore of Star Trek nerds! (Or "Trektards," as they prefer to be called.)

 

Note: Photos of the actual show are prohibited. Sorry.

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I...I couldn't take it and bailed out halfway through the show. Misty stuck it out, though, and even got this swell photo at the end.

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This is the second main exhibit hall, and encompasses all the other Trek TV shows.

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Once inside, you see a TV! So exciting!

 

But it has Voyager on it, so let's keep moving.

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Along one wall is a linear timeline of all the shows, movies, and major events in the Trek universe.

 

Smisty says yes to Star Trek II.

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Sorry, Bill.

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I think this is supposed to be from Insurrection or Nemesis. I guess I need to rewatch those, but one of them has Data singing or something and I don't want to risk it.

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Ignoring Smisty for the moment... (sorry!) ...I find it amusing that this quote is right next to a Borg. Yay, let's all look forward to being assimilated!

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Um...Worf, did you kill Doctor Crusher?

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Ahhh! This has suddenly turned into the Horror Nights version of Star Trek.

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OMG, we're all dead.

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Luckily, the afterlife is a gift shop. (See what I did there? That's called a "transition.")

 

I was happy to see that they were selling vibrating NON-SEX toys.

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Tell the world that your child is expendable!

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Mr. Spock is not impressed.

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So, was Star Trek: The Exhibition worthy of a special trip to Kennedy Space Center? No. But it was kind of a cool extra since we wanted to go anyway.

 

There's more Kennedy Space Center crap to come. Until then: May the force be with you!

Edited by Electerik
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