Friday, April 26, 2013

Rare Treat for a Space Fan Such as Myself!

So as I lugged my groceries down to Skylark this evening, I noticed a very large orange object being pushed and pulled by a couple of tremendous tugboats about a mile off the marina headed south down the river. After staring for a couple of minutes, I looked around and noticed quite a few of the local liveaboards standing on their boats for a better look as well. A quick conversation was had, and I found out that it was the large solid fuel tank that the Space Shuttle attaches to during lift-off. It was on a barge headed for Green Cove Springs, just down the river where it will be moved to the Wings of Dreams Aviation Museum at the Keystone Heights Airport in Starke, Fla., about an hour southeast of Jacksonville. Here is the story from the paper with some great pictures of the fuel tank as well as my grainy attempt of a picture with the phone. collectspace.com
It was very neat to see in person to say the least. I was finally in the right place at the right time!




Saturday, April 20, 2013

A Week so Far in April

Have been down in Jax now for about a week. Have enjoyed the weather, being in the high 70s, although this weekend was a washout. Zachary's baseball game was cancelled, so we headed over to the Barnes and Noble for a bit to check out the new magazines and of course for a coffee.
Nothing too much planned at this point. Work has been outrageously busy, so I am just going day by day.

Have been doing small projects on Skylark while I have been here, but I am happy to say all the major work is done and working great. Would like to get some deck scrubbing in tomorrow afternoon if the weather breaks, but that too will be decided as we go. Think the rest of the day will be spent below doing homework and reading. I could use the break, and will be happy to sit still and relax. Maybe even a nap, can you fathom??!!

Wanted to say congratulations to my friends Doug and Tina on S/V Pieridae. About 2 weeks ago, they sold off the rest of their land based possessions and officially moved aboard Pieridae, their O'day 40. They are currently bobbing happily in Southport, NC and will be there for a bit before setting off into the sunset. I wish them fair winds and look forward to seeing them out there.