Nerds Spring Break

Well it’s Spring Break and here I sit. The much anticipated and sorely longed for trip to visit the house of THE Mouse was doomed as soon as we did our tax return. And ‘return’ is the operative word. So the Spring Break trip turned into the Spring Break day trip to Huntsville, Alabama to visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. It’s Alabama’s No.1 tourist attraction. You can’t miss it. There is a 363 foot tall Saturn V rocket standing tall on the side of the highway.

Saturday morning before the ‘crack of dawn’ we were herding some very sleepy girls into the van. It is a four hour trip one way to Huntsville and it was rainy and just plain nasty weather but the Space Center is one of our favorite spots to visit. The girls slept most of the way to ‘nerd heaven’.

The U.S. Space and Rocket Center houses the largest space museum in the world and is the result of the inspirational insight of Dr. Werhner von Braun. Now a nerdy kid like me knew all those rocket scientists names. I read all about Chuck Yeager, Robert Goddard and von Braun and their work on the rockets that would eventually put men on the moon. I met astronaut Alan Shepard at Ole Miss during a field trip once time. I recall I embarrassed the teacher that was our chaperone (I can’t remember who it was) but I broke away from the group and walked right up to Mr. Shepard and talked to him about being the first American into space.

The Rocket Center is also home to Space Camp and Aviation Challenge. Oh to be a kid again so I could go there and go through some of the paces the astronauts go through before going up into space. I think I would have loved to ride atop one of those huge roman candles for the chance to ride to the edge of space and see what the universe really looks like. I still get goose bumps when I see a shuttle take off and land. I get on the internet and listen to the daily reports from the astronauts that are in the Space Station or on Shuttle Missions. I can even tell you when you can walk outside at night and see the blinking lights of the Space Station as it is speeding over our heads.

We had a very good time there in spite of the weather. We didn’t get to do the space shot or the centrifuge rides due to the rain but there was plenty to see and do. I watched the kids as they scaled the 60 foot tall rock wall. It looked like a lot of fun and I was seriously considering trying it until a woman about my age but much smaller started climbing. Then I got to thinking about how ridiculous I would be looking strapping on what looked like a leather chastity belt with a tether attached and trying to haul my big ole booty up that wall. Plus some of the men didn’t make it up the wall so I stopped entertaining that thought and said it was time for us to get into the van for the 4 hour long return trip.

A little R and R is a good thing, making a fool of myself is not. I would have probably broken a rib in some freakish accident and then would have to explain to Dr. Bruce that I was not acting my age again.

Ariel and Erin have decided to set out on their own little road trip this week and travel the Natchez Trace and stop at all the historical markers. I did that one time many moons ago and it was a great experience in Mississippi history. There is so much to see in our great state and we just take for granted. The beauty of the Trace is free and should not be missed.

Ji Eun and Ping will be going to St. Louis with some other exchange students for their little Spring Break Trip. They will probably sleep on that 6 plus hour trip too, which will be a good thing for their chaperone. I keep telling them that they are missing some great scenery by sleeping.

To me that is part of the fun of a trip; looking out the window seeing the ever changing landscape and wondering when are we going to get there and maybe even seeing something that makes me want to stop and investigate. Like the Coon Dog cemetery near Florence. After seeing Sweet Home Alabama, I want to go and check that place out. Then there is Tuscumbia, Alabama, home of the most politically incorrect sign on the face of the earth. “Welcome to Tuscumbia, Home of Ivy Green, birth place of Helen Keller. Come see what she couldn’t.” I kid you not! I couldn’t make something up like that! Others have seen that sign and they were just as shocked as I was.

Maybe those folks are nerds like me and think being politically correct is a crock.