Disney Day 4 and Shuttle Launch

Yesterday turned out to be perfect as we somehow managed to fit everything in. We went to Disney Hollywood Studios in the morning and somehow managed to fluke turning up at several shows just as they were starting as well as gettign through quite a few rides. As the day went on the weather seemed to be getting better and better and we thought that the shuttle launch would be getting more likely so we decided at the last minute to try and get there to see it. We left with about an hour to spare and tuned in to a local radio station with launch coverage. As we left it was still up in the air as to whether it would go or not then with about half an hour to go the call came through that it was definately on. The radio station had live coverage from NASA and i was really quite exciting listening to the pilot talk to mission control and start the countdown. We were expecting terrible traffic but I we got very lucky and with about five minutes to lauch we pulled up at a park straight accross the river from Kennedy Space centre where hundreds of people were gathered to watch. Lots of people had their internet phones and were spreading news of the launch sequence so there was a general countdown once it got to 10 seconds and then off it went.
It was sooooo cool. I knew it would be something that we would be glad we went to but I really didn't expect it to have the effect on all of us that it did. The flames were so big out of the bottom of the rocket that the shuttle, which is huge, was dwarfed in comparison. To imagine the people in the shuttle who we had just been listening to on the radio sitting up on top of it all you realised just how brave they are. And the excelleration, the speed that it was up and gone and out of site was sooo quick. By the time the low rumbling roar reached us the shuttle was a tiny speck of light almost not visible. Absolutely a highlight of the trip and I have decided that when I grow up I want to be an Astronaught.