To the Moon...and Back

We just got back from a trip to Huntsville, AL--we had no plans to go anywhere as of Friday morning, but Charles came home with this crazy idea to just up and drive to the Space Museum there. We left at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, got to Huntsville around 7:00 p.m. (thankfully we gained an hour with the changing time zone) and we checked in to our hotel not far from the museum.

We had a wonderful supper at Landry's Seafood House--the salad we got before the main course was amazing, so simple, but so good. Charles had an incredible seafood platter and he was in heaven. We finished off the meal with Bananas Foster and Riley chose cheese cake. We were surprised as she'd never even tried cheese cake before. We soon found out that she only ordered it because when she saw it on the dessert tray it had whipped cream and strawberries. Guess what? She just wanted the whipped cream and strawberries--typical Riley.

Today, Saturday, we got up, got dressed and headed downstairs for our complimentary breakfast--we ate like kings! Riley had a huge plate of pancakes and strawberries and Charles and I enjoyed scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, coffee, biscuits and gravy and so much more.

We were at the museum not long after it opened and we spent much of the day touring the grounds and soaking up all the cool things on display there. This is also ground zero for Space Camp--one of the coolest places ever. I always wanted to go as a kid, but never got the chance to. In college, I was actually offered a job there one summer (in 1995 or 1996, I can't remember), but I turned it down when I realized my not being able to swim might be a big issue during camp. I so wish I would have just taken some swimming lessons and accepted the job--it would have been a blast!

I think Charles and I took close to 100 pictures today...don't worry, I've only posted a select few. Enjoy!

The Saturn V rocket it all it's glory.

Stage 1 of the rocket assembly.

These boosters were huge!!

Suit with a model of the lunar rover.

The last stage of the rocket--the capsule.

Riley & Charles inside a model of the space station.

A small portion of a 4.2 pound moon rock
returned to Earth from one of the lunar missions.

The actual lunar rover--so cool!

Riley in front of a lunar lander display.

Riley was fascinated with all the space suits on display.

This one ring holds the entire "brain" of the rocket.

Charles & Riley in front of some military unmanned vehicles.

The shuttle simulator used during Space Camp. To the
left we saw kids in "mission control" watching
other kids inside the "shuttle" on CCTV during the mission.

Riley got to ride a smaller version of the Moon Shot ride.

She absolutely loved it!

Riley "riding" the shuttle.

The Pathfinder shuttle.

We picked up some nifty items in the gift shop. Funny story: We were all browsing through the gift shop and Riley poked her head in a separate room to check it out. Charles asked her what was in there and she replied, "Oh, just some more space novelties." No lie--those were her exact words. Where does she come up with this stuff?