12/26/13 - Kennedy Space Center, Astronaut Hall of Fame

Amanda & I went to have breakfast while Roger took a shower and got ready for the day.

This is the Christmas tree ornament Amanda & I picked out.

The first thing we did when we arrived at the KSC was head to the Atlantis Exhibit.  You watch a movie and then while the sheer screen is still down with stars on it the wall behind raises up and you see the Space Shuttle Atlantis it is an amazing moment that I can't quit explain.  I do know that I wasn't the only one to feel this way as I heard the person in charge trying to get people to move so the door could come back down, so that the next group could come in.

You were able to go inside a mock up of the flight deck.

Amanda is not to sure about how they had to line everything up before using the toilet.  Especially the fact that there is a camera under you and a monitor above you to help you.

They sleep in these boxes.  They just tuck themselves into the sleeping bag so they don't keep floating around.

The kitchen

They had a mock up of a space station that you could crawl through.

It was a little hard on the knees.

But for Roger the hardest part was probably crawling through the clear plastic tunnel that was a story above the ground.

They had landing simulators so you could try to land the shuttle on the runway.

The path of the shuttle around the earth.  They also had a shuttle launch experience ride that we rode that was pretty cool.

We couldn't pass up the chance to take a picture with the astronaut.

This was a pretty cheesie exhibit.  We did however watch the Imax film of the Hubble Space Telescope which was good.

Roger & Amanda decided to go for a ride on the moon.  I love the way they like to ham it up.

















I couldn't help but take a picture of this stuff.  It brought back so many childhood memories, but what I saw next almost made we scream with delight.

I loved this robot from Lost in Space.  I am sure if I saw the show today it would make me wonder why I ever loved it, but I did.  It was like seeing an old friend.

After leaving the KSC we headed down the road to the Astronaut Hall of Fame.  I will say that if we had paid for this we would have been very disappointed. Most of the interactive exhibits did not work.  They did have some cool artifacts to see and to see the time line of history of NASA and of things going on in the world were cool.





Since scouting was a big part of our life for a while it was interesting to see how many Astronauts were Scouts.

Roger's sister had told us about a restaurant that she had visited last year that she really liked and when we found out it was BBQ we knew we had to try it.
Slow & Low Bar-B-Que has an outdoor bar eating area or you can eat inside.

Roger and I split a combo plate.  The sweet potato chips had cinnamon and brown sugar on them, they were good.  The meat was good but we don't really care for the vinegar based bbq sauce but with some Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce it would be really good.

Amanda was just excited that they had fried okra.

12/25/13 - Coco Beach & Kennedy Space Center

This morning we took advantage of the free breakfast before we headed to Coco Beach.














It took us about 2 ½ hours to get to our La Quinta hotel.  Luckily they let us check in even though it was only 12:30. 

 While Roger rested a little bit Amanda and I walked out on the beach and went a little ways on the pier.  To go all the way out to the end it costs you $1.00 per person.  I guess that is one way to pay for the upkeep of the pier or to keep people off of it.  We went back and told Roger we wanted to head over to the Kennedy Space Center. Since it was already 2:00 I got on to find out how late they were open and it was only until 6.  I went over to the hotel computers to print season passes so that we could go every day if we wanted (buying a season pass was cheaper than 2 days).  Well when I went to print the tickets I found out the printer does not work.  The young lady who was working the front desk was very helpful and let me use her computer to print our vouchers.

So off we went to the Kennedy Space Center.  It took a half hour to get there because the speed limit never goes over 50.  On our way there we passed Port Canaveral and there was a Carnival ship in port. It got us just a little excited we can't wait to set sail on the 28th. Later I found out it was the Carnival Pride.










I have wanted to go to the KSC for a long, long time so I was very excited when I finally saw the sign and parts of the Atlantis exhibit.  I bought Roger the season pass that also included parking, which for cars is $10 a day.  So that worked out nicely. 










Of course we had to take a picture of the NASA ornament before going in. 














Once we went through the ticket gate we went to the right and entered Guest Services where we picked up our passes.  Roger didn’t get a lanyard with his pass because they were all out of the orange ones and it would confuse the park staff if he had a white lanyard since his benefits are different. 

  One of the first things you come to is the Rocket Garden.















We had fun climbing inside the different rocket modules.

Another family had asked us if we would take a picture of them in front of the Christmas tree and we said sure, as long as they would then take a picture of us. So at least we got one family picture.

We were able to catch one of the last buses for a tour that is included with admission.  We saw the 39A & B launch pads. Along with a stop at the Apollo/Saturn V Center.

They are rebuilding this launch pad so they can use it in 2017 for their new space craft.

We also passed by the Vehicle Assembly building.

But for most people what got their attention were the alligators. The bus driver said that this is what most people get the most excited about.

They dropped us off at the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Where we got to see & hear what happened in the Firing Room during an Apollo launch.











When we walked out there was a 363-foot moon rocket.

Amanda noticed that the date of our first walk on the moon coincides with Brad's birthday. Of course Roger said that "we planned it that way".

We also watched a recreation of the Lunar Landing.

They had displays of space suits and other items that were either used or were brought back from the moon.

 When you get dropped off the tour bus right in front of the Atlantis Exhibit.  We plan on seeing this tomorrow.

These always intrigue Roger.

Amanda and Roger picking out which design she wants for her penny.














I thought this astronaut looked kind of creepy.

Amanda thought of some of her students when she saw the Angry Birds Space Encounter. So of course she couldn't disappoint them by not going in.












Amanda was a better shot.















The views as we were leaving were touching.












It was not easy finding someplace to eat Christmas dinner but we finally found someplace we could agree on, Papa Vitos Italian Restaurant. It turned out to be pretty good. Then it was back to the hotel with full tummies.

December 24, 2013 - Fresno to Fort Lauderdale

Our wonderful friend Wing was gracious enough to come over at 4:15 am and go with us to the airport and drive our truck back home.  We got lucky and there was no line for American when we got there so we walked right up to the counter and checked our bags.  We got a Christmas blessing and there was no charge for our bags, which saved us $75.00.  We then headed over to security  and there was a pretty good line but due to our TSA pre-check status with the Global Entry Program that we signed up with we bypassed the line and only had to wait for two families to go before we practically walked right through security.  It was wonderful we didn't have to take our shoes or belts off, nor did we have to take our laptop or liquids out of our bags.  It was much more relaxing.  Amanda on the other hand had to go through the regular line and go through the body scanner and then get swabbed down do to over-sized sequins on her pants.

As we were boarding our plane we noticed a gentleman that was escorted off the plane because he had been celebrating a little to much and even though he promised to go to sleep they would not let him fly.  Not sure how someone can be that intoxicated at 6:00 in the morning and he was not a young man either.  Our flights were uneventful, thank goodness.  While in Dallas we had lunch at TGI Fridays which seems to be one of those restaurants we only eat at when we are on vacation. As our hostess was walking us to our table she told this other family to have a nice Christmas and they lady smirked back that that was unlikely It made me want to try to be that much more friendly with everyone as here they were having to work on Christmas Eve and be away from their families so why should we be grumbling when it is our choice to be traveling this time of year.  Amanda's comment about our flights were that they seemed much better this year.  Not sure if that is because it was much shorter than flying to Europe and back or if it is because we had seats with more leg room and that our connections were just right so that we were able to eat a nice lunch in between and were neither rushed nor had a long wait for the next flight.

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale right on time.  We got our luggage and then caught the bus to the car rental center to then catch another bus to Ace Rental Car.  Again things ran smoothly but it did help that Roger remembered to ask for a recent insurance card to take in case we needed it and it just so happened that this time they asked for it and if we didn't have it we would have paid quite a bit more for insurance.  There was another lady at the desk who was calling back home to get someone to fax a copy of her insurance policy.

We then headed to our hotel the Best Western Plus Ft. Lauderdale Airport/Cruise Port.   The room did have a little musty odor and our air conditioner wasn't the coolest but it was comfortable.  It did have a refrigerator, microwave and coffee pot.  I was a little worried because we were on the first floor and right across from the ice-machine but it was very quiet.

We found that Amanda's suitcase lock had been messed with and we could not open it.  The front desk did not have anything we could cut the lock off with but they did say that Big Lots and Dollar Tree were just across the street but as we were walking up they were closing so we jumped in the car and punched in Walmart and headed to the closest one which as we headed there didn't seem so close.  I think everyone and their neighbor were at this Walmart.  There was a line of people trying to get in at the one and only door that was open to also let people out....it was CRAZY!  We barrel our way in when we heard they were getting ready to close.  As we headed back to the auto/outdoor/tool dept. we noticed how the shelves in a lot of the areas looked completely bare.  We found the wire cutter and a couple of new luggage locks and a register in the outdoor dept. that was only taking debit cards or credit cards and checked out and headed out.  They had every register open which was about 20  and they had lines at all of them and as we headed out of the door there were people just standing out there not believing that the store would not let them in anymore.  Of course it wasn't as easy getting out of the parking lot either.  Did Christmas just sneak up on everybody or what.  It looked more like Black Friday than Christmas Eve.

Of course now we were headed to Jaxson's Ice-cream parlor, which according to Amanda has become a Christmas tradition.  We started with the 1 lb. Artillery Dog.  This is the best tasting hot dog that I think any of us have had.  Jaxon's has it made for them.  I guess having this two years in a row also makes it a tradition.  The three of us split it so that we have room for ice-cream.

The Gargantuan and a Jumbo Sundae.












After our tummies were overstuffed it was back to the hotel and with The Christmas story on the TV everyone quickly fell asleep.

Feeling blessed!

11/29/2013 - Global Entry Program Interview at SFO

The day after Thanksgiving Roger and I headed to San Francisco for an appointment to interview for the Global Entry program.  I had booked a hotel on Hotwire that would give us a free shuttle to the airport.  We stayed at the Super 8 in San Bruno.  The room was clean and comfortable.

It had a small table with two chairs, a chair, refrigerator, microwave and coffee pot.

The restroom could use some updating and I don't think it would pass the ADA inspection.  The toilet paper is a distance away. 








The staff was friendly and helpful.  I had asked to have a shuttle take us over to the airport so they told us what time to be in the lobby.  When we arrived down stairs a little before the time they told us to be there, he was there waiting for us.

He dropped us off at the International Terminal shuttle drop off/pick up area.  We walked in went to the left and took the escalator down to the next level and the Global Entry office was just across and a little to the right.  They had 6 chairs for people to wait to be called in.  We had arrived early but when the officer came out he noted that we were there so we did get called in early.  Roger and I were called in separately asked some questions, gave our fingerprints and were told that we would receive an email later as to our status in the program.  To find out more about the Global Entry Program check out their site.  If you travel often it could save you a lot of time and hassle.

The shuttle driver had told us how to call for pick up so we went back out to where we were dropped off and called for the shuttle.  We noted that the time was just when Roger's appointment was supposed to start as we were headed back to the hotel.

When we got to the hotel we decided to walk next door to Don Pico's Bistro .

The food was good and the service was quick.  We especially enjoyed talking to a young man that was a waiter there that had moved from the Fresno area to San Francisco about a year earlier.  He had noticed that we were from Fresno because I was wearing my Fresno State sweatshirt.  This was also the same day that Fresno State had played San Jose State at San Jose and we lost.   They had a note on their menu that if you checked in on Facebook they would give you a Margarita so I quickly took advantage of that.  They had a dessert that if I would have seen it before I ordered I would have just added a taco to Roger's meal and ordered dessert.  It was a Nutella chimichanga.  The meals started at around $14.  With tummies full we headed next door to our hotel.

We were lucky and had a room at the end of the hall so it was quiet.  But in the morning you could hear the people leave from across the hall so that tells you the rooms are not very soundproof.  We went downstairs for breakfast and let's just say that it is a very small room.  there are 4 tables that will sit a max of 3 people each.  They offered toast, bagels, cinnamon rolls, two types of cold cereal, oatmeal packets and they had 1 waffle maker.  Luckily we got in there in time for Roger to make a waffle but since there were people lining up behind him he decided we could share that waffle and he would make another when the line went down.  Well the line did not go down it only kept growing but he did jump back in line and made another.  It was kind of fun sitting in there because I think we were the only people who spoke English.  Others were speaking German, Japanese and not sure what else. So my suggestion would be to head down early to get your breakfast.

Why don't people listen.

I have a hard time when you try to tell people that they should book a cruise early and they don't listen.  I have found that at least with Carnival Cruise Lines I can book early, if the price they are posting is one I am willing to pay, and that if the price goes down I can get my price reduced.  I have people that always think that if they wait the price will get lower and they will get a better deal.  Well I can still get the deal they get if it goes down but more often than not I will end up with the lower price and the better deal, ie. on board credit, cabin upgrades etc.  I am not saying that price doesn't ever go down but during the holiday sailings they tend to go up in price.  So why take the chance if it is a vacation you know you want to do.  Book early and just keep an eye on the prices.  If you see the price go down contact your travel agent or if you are like me you just submit the form online to get the price adjustment.  We just took advantage of the National Cruise Month sale on Carnivals website and got the upgrade, onboard credit and 1/2 price refundable deposit.

I also always check airline prices when they first come open and keep checking to see when I think the price is the best deal I can get.  Unfortunately we travel at the most expensive times of the year Christmas and summer.  So I know that more often than not airfare is the cheapest on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  This next year we will not be so fortunate to be able to fly out on those dates since our cruise will be leaving port before then. We also do not have a big window of time that we can fly out so I am totally at the airlines mercy.  I wish Southwest flew out of our airport just for the savings of checked bags.