Months ago I noticed that a space shuttle launch would take place while I was in Florida this time. Not only that, but it is the third-last launch of the 27-year shuttle program, and the last trip for Discovery. I just had to see it, so yesterday we drove right across the state, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. Only 150 miles, how bad could it be??
Turns out, REAL bad. Left at 8 a.m. allowing 4 hours to get there, find a spot, and wait til blast-off at 4:50 pm. BUT. No direct route, rush-hour through Tampa, Disney hordes around Orlando, spring breakers, many toll booth stops, and then huge crowds arriving on U.S. 1 for exactly the same reason I was there. Lucky to arrive in 5 1/2 hours and had to take the first "parking" spot I could find. On a grassy strip by a sidewalk at the SPCA Thrift Shop in Titusville.
Hordes of people massing right up to blast-off. Lineups at deteriorating washrooms 40-people long. No police directing traffic. A wild mix of Woodstock/Pope visit/tailgate parties/Johnny Cash free concert. We found a great spot across the channel from the launch pad, side-by-side with the estimated 250,000 others. The blastoff gets its own separate blog, right after this one.
Literally one minute later, every one wanted to leave at the same time. A wild mix of hurricane evacuation and road rage. There followed the worst traffic jam I have ever experienced in my 600,000+ miles of driving. 5 hours to creep the first 10 miles. 8 hours to go the 150 miles home, and already the shuttle had orbited earth 7 times! Crazily, it was totally worth it.
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