Part 6 - Kennedy Space Center!

Well, it seems very appropriate somehow that my update about our visit to Kennedy Space Center lands so close to the 4th of July!  What is more American than a huge giant American Flag on the side of a building that shoots rockets into Space?  On Tuesday, May 19 we spent a day of our Make a Wish Trip visiting the Kennedy Space Center.  Brett was just a baby during the first moon landing, and I was yet born, so seeing this was something new for us all to experience.

The weather was really beautiful with no rain forecast until the evening.  Closer to the Atlantic Ocean, it was humid, but cooler.  The drive from Give Kids the World was less than an hour, and we saw lots of wild life along the route.

Kennedy Space Center

So, as you may recall - our day at Universal Studios ended early when Jenelle's wheelchair broke.  I frantically made calls in the area to the local National Seating and Mobility office to no avail.  We decided that we'd simply drive to KSC and rent something with wheels for Jenelle.  Well, even the best of intentions don't always guarantee the best outcome.  Poor Jenelle could only fit into a double stroller as the single stroller was simply too small, and an adult size wheelchair (the only wheelchair available at KSC) was much too big.  She was such a trooper, and with a little help made it through the day.

Only option for Jenelle was a double stroller
as the adult wheelchair rental was too big.

Not fun at all!

Our first stop was a quick visit to the Rocket Garden.  I had some optical illusion fun taking photos, and it was interesting to read up on the history of space travel.  After buying tickets for a VIP bus tour, and checking out the garden, we had a quick lunch.

Rocket Garden
(Objects in Picture are larger in real life)

Our VIP tour began at 1:00 PM, and that is when we realized Kennedy Space Center was much larger than we imagined.  The bus was air conditioned and cool, and while the VIP tour allowed us to get out and take photos as specific sites, we think we probably could have had a similar experience on the regular bus tour.

We toured various launch sites, viewing areas, the main launching pad, the path where rockets go to the launch site, and the Atlantic Ocean!  We saw an alligator, a manatee, a bald eagle and pelicans!  The final stop of our tour left us at the Apollo museum.  We finished the VIP Tour around 3:00 PM which left a little over an hour to view the Shuttle Atlantis exhibit.  All of the exhibits were amazing and informational! Closing time came quickly at 4:00 PM and we missed the opportunity to ride the 3D Launch Experience.

We had a lot of photo opportunities, and got back to the Village early enough to enjoy another evening at Amberville.  Just as we got home, the thunderstorm and rain rolled in.  

Brother and Sister viewing the launch sites.

Selfie gone wrong.

SO much bigger in person!

Helping Jenelle walk around.

My favorite mission patch.

JD in the replica Atlantis Shuttle.

Who's flying this thing anyway?

I would not buy this helmet for him,
but that he could take this photo instead!

It was good to have an early evening as the next day was going to be our last full day with a planned visit to the Magic Kingdom.  On my way home, I found a company that rented child size wheelchairs for a minimal cost.  They even delivered to GKTW, so we were all set!

That is all for now... Happy 4th of July to you and your family - please be safe!

Next update - Magic Kingdom where Jenelle finally meets Tinker Bell! Thank you again to Make A Wish Orange County Inland Empire and GKTW for such an amazing trip!