Launchfest

Bohdin's want ad playdate was yesterday afternoon. Moments before they arrived, my nose started running like a burst pipe. It became even worse through the evening. I didn't sleep well last night and my restlessness kept Buddy awake also. He was tired in the morning and ended up crashing after nine. NASA has a campus nearby and was holding an open house today. I had heard that this was the first time in 4 years but I don't know if that is true. I thought it would be fun to attend but Buddy wasn't really excited. With Buddy asleep, I packed up the kids and headed down there. Tons of other people had the same idea. They offered shuttle buses from various locations. I parked at a local high school and went to the end of a line that had several hundred people in it. I thought about giving up but didn't. The line moved very slowly and it was hot outside. After about 30 minutes we were able to board a sweltering bus for the short ride to NASA. There didn't seem to be any reason for the bottleneck. There were so many buses just sitting there waiting for passengers.

The dropoff was near the visitor center. I was now hot, tired, sick, and mad (I forgot to mention the note from the downstairs neighbor I found this morning). The area had a lot of tents set up. There was a band and some demonstrations. Bohdin wanted an ice cream cone right away and I couldn't blame him. He did a great job waiting in line despite the heat and lengthy wait. I bought him an ice cream cone and we wandered around a bit. There wasn't a whole lot to see there and I was let down. The whole thing seemed disorganized. There were school buses that took people to various places around the campus. Each stop had different things to see. There was a lot they offered but I was having some difficulty figuring it out. I thought I would take Bohdin to the robotics exhibit but an employee who was there with his family thought the tech area would be better. I decided to follow him. After some snafus trying to get on a bus we headed to another area. We only had time for one stop and I'm glad this was it. We ended up in the building where the components that are sent into space are tested. The giant building is filled with huge machines that mimic various conditions in space. One of the coolest things for Bohdin and I was the huge centrifuge. They didn't have a spacecraft on it but they did have it spinning slowly. It was a really neat site. Bohdin received 3-D glasses at one of the exhibits which he was quite excited about. We passed a glass wall with a silver spacecraft inside the room. Bohdin asked what it was. I then asked the employee for him. It is the actual telescope they are sending to the moon in December. When we walked away I repeated what the man had said and asked Bohdin if he had any questions. He wanted to know how they were going to get it out of the building. We went back and asked. We also saw a robotic arm with a camera attached. Kids were taking turns controlling it from a computer.

Bohdin and I both thought the experience was neat. I'm still shocked at how those spacecrafts look like they are built by 5th graders with popsicle stick and aluminum foil. The employee near the moon thing admitted they had a nickname for it. I only caught the first part but he said duct tape ___. He said it looks better before the thermal blankets are applied. Despite all of the hardships of the day it was a worthwhile experience. Very few people probably get to see where the spacecrafts are built and tested.

Being sick and dragging two kids around with one on my back was a bit tiring. Life goes on though. I just came back from the grocery store to get a few things I forgot yesterday. It's time to make Buddy's birthday cheesecake before it gets too late.