Friday, June 19, 2009

Watching the Cruise Ships Sail

Yesterday, we paid a short visit to Jetty Park to see an Atlas V rocket leave earth on its mission to the moon. Because of the heavy cloud cover, we didn't SEE the rocket launch so much as we HEARD it. But, since the launch was scheduled for within the 5:00 hour, we also got to see two ships sail down Port Canaveral's ship channel as they set out on their weekly Thursday sailings. First, the Disney Wonder (aove) sailed past us, in a bit of a hurry to get out to sea before the rocket blasted off.


The rocket launched in the third one second launch window at 05:32 PM, and we did get a quick glimpse of the bright ball of light before it disappeared into the thick cloud deck. Of course, the sound of rocket's roar trailed the sight by some seconds, and went on and on afterwards, thrilling the crowd that was gathered along the edge of the water. With the overcast conditions, it's bearly discernable in the picture at right, but look for a bright dot just above the little rise. Even this close to the launch site (about 8-10 miles), you really needed binoculars on this particular day.

With the launch over, the Carnival Sensation was free to begin her T hursday run, just a little later than usual. So, it wasn't long before she sauntered down the channel on her way out to sea, filled with happy cruisers on their way to the Bahamas.


We headed for home, impressed once again with the intellectual might that is NASA, proud to be citrizens of a country that accomplishes such great things, and silently wishing the cruisers on the two ships a hearty "Bon Voyage."


Brought to you by Binoculars from www.CruiseReadyStore.com

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