Author: DrewBarker

Kennedy Space Center

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Today we traveled north from Melbourne to the Kennedy Space Center. We were all so excited after seeing the ULA launch on Friday night. We only had the one day so we wanted to make the most of it.

We started outside looking at all the rockets the powered the early space program.

Took a break to play for a few minutes.

Next we learned about current & future Mars missions.

The space shuttle Atlantis was one of the best parts! It is the actual space shuttle that flew 33 missions into space.

Waiting for the launch simulator. Jamon was just big enough to ride it – everyone had a great time!

Memorial to Challenge & Columbia, and to honor all those that lost their lives serving our important space programs.

To be honest, I shed more than a few tears at the memorial. I remember seeing the Columbia as a young child before the Challenge tragedy. Even though I was only 5, I remember the Challenger well and how sad I was. This was my first time seeing the memorial, and I was overwhelmed.

We didn’t get to do the bus tours out to the launch sites. Even though we really wanted to see the Falcon Heavy, we were all tired & hungry. We finished up the day at a great seafood grill in Port Canaveral watching big cruise ships go by.

Tomorrow we are off to Sebring to get setup for the trade show.

~Drew

ULA Launch

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Ok, so the pic isn’t much, BUUUUUT…I have always wanted to see a rocket / shuttle launch. Tonight, we just so happen to be in Melbourne, FL and there was a ULA Launch! To be completely honest, I am hoping to see the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch before we leave Florida. The Falcon Heavy test fire is supposed to happen tomorrow, but there is not yet a date scheduled for the launch. Anyway, watching the ULA launch tonight was amazing! Here is a link to the ULA launch site: ULA Launch

I set a timer before dinner so we could watch the YouTube feed and then go out watch the launch. I setup the camera (even though I didn’t expect it to take any sort of reasonable picture) and we all went out with binoculars to see it. We watched as it climbed across the sky and disappeared to the East. The only disappointment was that we couldn’t hear any sound.

Tonight was definitely a special event for me. I remember seeing my first space shuttle when I was three, only took me me 33 more years to see a space launch.

I’m sure that soon enough Cair will post some great pics of me and the kids freezing to death on the beach today, so…I’ll let you go for now and you can look forward to more of her great posts and pics!

~Drew

First leg plans

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Here we are, ten days away from departure!

We now have a fairly solid game plan for where we are going on the first leg, or at least for the first half of it 🙂

January 1 we are departing Springdale, AR and heading south to Hot Springs, AR to spend a night and visit the Hot Springs National Park. Then it’s down to New Orleans, LA for a couple of days. Leaving NOLA for south Florida with a few stops along the way. We will spend a few days around Everglades National Park. From there it’s down to the Keys! We have booked passage on the ferry to go out and see the Dry Tortugas National Park late in the week of January 8. After a few days in the Keys, we are off for Biscayne National Park.

That gets us through the second week in January, TruTrak has a trade show in Sebring, Florida the third week of January. So we will meander that way after Biscayne. Hopefully we can catch the launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy while we are in the area.

After Sebring we will head toward Arkansas again, perhaps making a few stops along the way. We will figure that out as we get started on the trip.

~Drew

Post Turkey Day Update!

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Well, we survived the family Thanksgiving events and shared the news of our trip with about everyone in our families.

Yesterday, Cair submitted her official resignation from her job and she alerted the school that the kids will not be returning for the spring semester.  Over the last week or so, I finished getting the solar panels installed on the Flying Driving, gotten the roof rack on the jeep, installed the base plate for towing the jeep, and finished all the wiring changes on the jeep. I haven’t actually attached and pulled the jeep just yet, but that is coming very soon.

The first leg has been determined, at least in theory.  We will depart Springdale on January 1, and will head for Hot Springs National Park.  From there it will be to New Orleans, then along the coast all the way down to the southern tip of Florida.  We will visit Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park, and Dry Tortugas National Park during the first few weeks in January.  Then it will be off to Sebring, Fl for a trade show for my work.

More to come!

~Drew

It’s REAL!!!

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Well folks, it’s really going to happen.  There were some major hiccups along the way, but things are actually coming together.  About six weeks ago we purchased our motorhome, which has already be named “The Flying Driving Camper”.  Over the next 48 (YIKES!!!!) days, we will get the Jeep all ready to go and try to get things buttoned up so that we can begin this epic journey together!

I’ll get some more pics of the Flying Driving posted soon, as well as the planned route for the first leg of our journey.

When I created this site, we didn’t exactly know what our plan was, but that is now solidified.  We are going to visit as many of the national parks as possible in 2018.  Yes, we are also planning to visit every state as part of this, but the MAIN goal is the national parks.

Stay turned for more about our awesome family journey!

~Drew