Just got back from a week in Florida with family. We split the time between Pensacola and the east coast, with some stops in the middle to and from, and a quick jaunt over to Mobile for the USS Alabama. I took the new Micro Four-Thirds setup along and was pretty pleased with the portability, and had quite a few opportunities to snap some critters with it.

Those are astoundingly beautiful photos! What kind of camera again?

Where did you eat when you visited the Space Center?

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Those are astoundingly beautiful photos! What kind of camera again?

Where did you eat when you visited the Space Center?

It's a Panasonic Lumix G3...15 year-old 16MP Micro four-thirds body. I'm no professional, just wanted something lightweight and portable for backpacking that would give me more capabilities than my phone. This was my first trip using it instead of my Pentax K5, and I'm liking the change. It's about half the size and a third of the weight.

I got a lot of use out of the 12-32mm lens with auto-lens cap...it's almost as small as a pancake setup, and super convenient. Since we weren't doing any serious hiking I pretty much defaulted to the 45-200 for the longer stuff, but I also have a 45-150 that's a lot smaller and lighter. A useful feature (for me) of the micro four-thirds system is that its crop factor effectively doubles zoom length, so that 200mm lens becomes a 400mm, and the 150 a 300.

We actually packed lunch for the Space Center trip, which was probably a mistake. First, it was kinda difficult to get back out to the car, so we ended up just staying until we'd seen everything at about 2:30, and then ate a late lunch when we left. It's also freaking hot in Florida, and leaving a soft-sided cooler in a hot Suburban all day made for a warm salad and sandwiches. It was just me and the two older kids, so we ended up stopping at a place in Canaveral on the way back to the house and spending way too much money on a second lunch. Probably should have just eaten on-site.

Overall the Space Center was great. The exhibits were well designed and the experience-based stuff was fun. The shuttle exhibit was probably my favorite, just because it has the most detail. They way they introduce it through the intro video as you come in was pretty awesome, too, and the launch experience was fun. I felt like they did an excellent job with presentation, had access to lots of information for us nerdy older folks, while keeping it fun and accessible for kids at the same time.

I was disappointed that the bus ride didn't go to the gantry the day we were there...it just took us straight to the Apollo Center because of "operations". We did get to see them hauling a Falcon 9 around behind a truck while we were driving through, though. That's the nerdy kind of stuff I like, and I get that they can't have a bunch of tourists around getting in the way when they're actually working, but that's the main thing I wanted to see.

My 15 year-old daughter has wanted to work at NASA basically her whole life, but she hates math and science. She told us she's going to be a janitor. So we spent the whole time we were there looking for a janitor so she could meet them and take a picture with them. We didn't see a single one, but as we were leaving she asked one of the guys working the front gate, and he agreed, which made her day .

We didn't get to see a launch while we were there, either, which means we'll have to come back. When we originally planned the trip there was a chance that we were going to be there for Artemis II, but it got pushed back. Sadly it was in the VAB with the doors shut while we were there, so we didn't even get to see it.

Thanks for sharing, the pictures are beautifully done!!

Really great photos. Great write up.

Fantastic pics!

I expected to see the usual Florida pictures, saw your first picture first, and immediately thought, “That ain’t Florida!” What springs did you kayak or is that Crystal River? It doesn’t look like Manatee Springs despite the wildlife. The bigger alligators remind me of the ones we see at Myakka River State Park.

Great story about your daughter. When we went, mine brought her American Girl astronaut doll and a woman stopped us and asked to see the doll. She said they did a great job on the space suit and proceeded to tells us about the work she did designing the real ones. It was fantastic, but it didn’t stick with my daughter.

I have the same camera and it does a great job.

We stopped at Silver Springs on the way down, and Blue Spring on the way back. Did not have time to Kayak, but I'd like to go back and do it, or tube Blue Spring if it's the right time of year. We saw a few manatees and a gator at Silver Spring. All the manattees were gone at Blue Spring, but it was still a pretty walk, and the spring itself was pretty cool. I actually saw one at Sebastian Inlet, too, which was unexpected.

My wife's uncle took us for an airboat ride at a place called Lone Cabage west of Cocoa. That's where we saw most of the gators.

That's a really cool story about your daughter. I love it when the folks who actually did the job are out there interacting with the guests and sharing real-life experience. You learn a lot more and it really makes it more real and personal.

" It's also freaking hot in Florida"

Wellĺlllĺ, at least its not dry heat. We gots humidity.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
" It's also freaking hot in Florida"

Wellĺlllĺ, at least its not dry heat. We gots humidity.

Lol that's definitely true! And it was snowing here this afternoon (even though it was 60 this morning!), so I'm not sure which is worse...

Great variety of photos! As said, certainly not the typical. Very creative.

Looks like you had a great time, love the mix of activities.

What is the 5th picture of?

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Originally posted by jeeperxd:
What is the 5th picture of?

A big ol' softshell turtle that I found in a field near the river at Silver Spring.

Can't believe I missed the post back in March, looks like you had a great time. The springs are nice to visit an see some live Florida habitat.

If you get back to the Space Coast I suggest Dixie Crossroads in Titusville for your late lunch and their Rock Shrimp....

NAS Pensacola Museum?
We did that one last year when we were there, kids really enjoyed it and it was nice to get out of the sun for a day.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Can't believe I missed the post back in March, looks like you had a great time. The springs are nice to visit an see some live Florida habitat.

If you get back to the Space Coast I suggest Dixie Crossroads in Titusville for your late lunch and their Rock Shrimp....

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll keep it in mind. We may well be back as we enjoyed going, and my wife's aunt and uncle seemed to enjoy having us and are already asking when we'll be back.

quote:

NAS Pensacola Museum?

Yep. My wife's parents live about 15 minutes away, so we've been about 50 times. This trip was a little more challenging because of enhanced security due to the war. We spent about an hour getting a pass, but did finally get on base to go to the museum. In some ways it was kinda nice because there were a lot fewer people there than normal.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:

quote:

NAS Pensacola Museum?

Yep. My wife's parents live about 15 minutes away, so we've been about 50 times. This trip was a little more challenging because of enhanced security due to the war. We spent about an hour getting a pass, but did finally get on base to go to the museum. In some ways it was kinda nice because there were a lot fewer people there than normal.

It was really sparse when we went in the middle of summer. Pretty great, not having to deal with any crowds.