I figured it’s finally time I should post about our trip to Florida. No, we didn’t get to see a Space Shuttle launch – maybe next year – but we still had a great time. And so, I present Andrew and Laura’s Florida trip.
I like to have goals when traveling. The following were a few of our goals for this trip.
#1 See the space shuttle Endeavour launch during our stay – live – as in not on TV – in person
#2 Visit the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
#3 Go to at least one beach (Laura hadn’t ever been to the beach)
#4 Parasail (It was Laura’s Idea…really)
#5 Swamp Tour – And hopefully see an Alligator
#6 Relax
#7 Not get sunburned
#8 See a space shuttle launch
#9 Eat ice cream with Jenna’s money after seeing a space shuttle launch
The space shuttle was our main goal for the week, but as many of you probably know, it was the only goal that we didn’t accomplish. Other than that, I have to say it was a very successful trip. Here’s a visual summary of everything we did.
Thursday – Departure
We flew on an MD-80 with Allegiant Air
I took a picture of the cockpit so I could see our initial heading
Friday – Recover from Travel
Strange ducks that lived at our resort
Saturday – First Launch Attempt Scrubbed
No pictures – but seriously who wants to see a grown man cry 
Saturday – Parasailing
Pictures coming in part II since I have to scan those in (didn’t want to take the digital camera 800 feet in the air)
Saturday – Atlantic Ocean
Pictures coming in part II since I also didn’t want to risk the digital on the beach.
Sunday – Swamp Tour
I can't remember any names - so this is a bird taking off
A tall white bird
Baby alligators running away from us
Year old alligator swimming away
This guy totally could have eaten the Ern alive - good thing he didn't get to come
A cow hanging out by the Alligator lake
We found a Lamborghini on the way home and I insisted we get pictures!
Spook Hill
Ok Spook Hill needs some explanation. There is a legend that in the old days, farmers found that their horses were actually struggling to pull wagons DOWN HILL. And thus the name “Spook Hill” was given to the hill. I heard of it, and since it wasn’t too far from the swam we went to, I figured we’d stop by. The picture doesn’t show it as much as a video (and maybe that’ll be in Part II) but basically what you see the the picture shows a road going down to a dip and then climbing. If you drive to the dip in the road and put your car in nuteral – it will actually roll backwards “Uphill”. Of course the truth of the matter is that the dip is an illusion. Notice you cannot actually see the skyline. So that was Spook Hill!
Monday – Rest Day
Laura didn't get to see the white sands beach - so we had to do with golf course white sand
Phase 10 took up much of our rest day
These guys were everywhere, we made a special trip with our camera just to photograph them
Tuesday (Day) – Kennedy Space Center Tour
Coming in Part II – in order to build suspense!
Tuesday (Night) – Second Launch Attempt Scrubbed
Ok – here’s the closest you get to see my cry
At this point - I just wanted to go to bed
Wednesday – Rest Day
You can't have a rest day without Krispy Kreme
Then we went to Disney World (since we were resting)
Saw Epcot
And rode the tram - well ok we saw the tram
Ok so we didn’t actually go INTO Disney World – that’s not really important though is it?
Thursday – Fly back Home
Big storms moving through just before we take off - That's our plane through the window!
Wonderful view from our plane!
That’s something worth remembering!
And I must end with this completely cute picture of Laura!
Laura in our apartment / hotel room
When we got home – The Ern did not appear to have missed us or even realized that we were gone…
The Ern is Out
Flying is one of those things that I’ve always enjoyed. I love anything that has to do with flight. It is more of a hobby than a career though, which is why I don’t fly for a living. I was going to get to fly last night with a buddy of mine, but his instructor got sick, so we had to enjoy being stuck to the ground instead.
My sister, Jenna, has a fear of heights. She always has. I remember driving to Grandma and Grandpa Laird’s every year growing up and going through the rest area that had the observation tower back in the woods. Every year we would go to climb it, and every year she would get all disturbed. I didn’t pay much attention to this back then because I wanted to get to the top as quick as I could to see the view. What a kind brother I was.
This fear of heights has translated into a fear of flying. Which is most unfortunate for her in my opinion since I think flying is great. The advantage, is when we go on family vacations, she is more than happy to give up her seat by the window to me in exchange for a seat near the center of the plane.
The truth is, people that are afraid of heights may have good grounds to be afraid of them. Even I get the queezies when I look at the picture below.
Men On Skyscraper
If one of those guys fell backwards, they would more than likely fall to their doom, death, and demise. That’s why I have a desk job. This does not hinder my enjoyment of flying however.
Why, you might ask, does the fact that falling from hundreds or thousands of feet in the air will cause death not hinder your enjoyment of flying. This is the important point, and the point that I hope my sister Jenna takes to heart when she has to fly next time. It is the fact that a human, is not designed to fly or glide or do anything graceful in the air, other than fall. The airplane however, is designed to do all three: fly, glide, and do them gracefully.
A quick physics lesson about airplane flight. Think of the wings of the airplane as what keeps the plane up, and the engines as what makes the plane go forward. In some respects you must have both in order to fly, however you can get speed without engines, if you have altitude just be descending, but I digress.
The engine in the plane is similar to the engine in the car, so I won’t get into that. Suffice it to say that the engine propells the plane forward and causes air to rush over the wings.
That last part is the important part, because this is where planes differ from humans falling through the air. A human falling through the air can flail as much as they like, but will most likely never fly. They don’t have wings. A wing is specially designed to create LIFT. Lift is described as the difference of pressure between the top and bottom of a wing causing the wing to move towards the area of lower pressure. A visual would help.
Lift
I had originally thought that it was the engines that kept the plane up. You push anything fast enough through the air, and it will fly right? So you just need a really big engine (which planes have) and you can fly. What I was thinking of is actually called a Rocket (which I always enjoy). A rocket doesn’t have a wing and is, in fact, propelled upward only because the engine behind it is huge.
The airplane however does not rise off the ground solely due to the engine power. The engine just propels the airplane forward so that air passes over the wings. Once air passes over the wings, lift begins to occur. See the diagram above? The air has to take a longer path around the top of the wing than around the bottom. This results in the air moving over the top of the wing moving faster. It’s roughly the same amount of air as is moving along the bottom of the wing though, so in order to move faster it has to spread out. And when air spreads out, the pressure drops. Pressure is just the measurement of how many air molecules there are per square inch.
When you suck on a straw, the Pepsi in the cup comes into your mouth. This is because the sucking action causes the pressure in your mouth to drop below the pressure in the cup. The Pepsi tries to fill that area of low pressure and moves up the straw and into your mouth.
The same thing happens with the wing. When the lower pressure is created on the top of the wing, the wing begins to move up.
Therefore, the engine is only used to keep air moving over the wing, the wing itself is what causes the plane to rise off the ground and truly fly. This, I hope, is a great comfort to those with a fear of flying because it demonstrates the difference between a human falling through the air and a bird or plane flying through the air. The human is helpless because they have no wings, but the plane with the help of the lift on the wings, will be able to gracefully soar to its destination.
Armed with that knowledge, go out and fly confidently and without fear.
Boeing 777-200
