Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Tired puppy


A long day, but a good one.

Miss D. and I went down to Huntsville, AL to visit the US Space & Rocket Center.  I gave them my 1969 scrapbook of the Apollo 11 moon mission, which seemed to generate a lot of interest.  The lady who accepted it was very taken with cartoons illustrating the funny side of the mission, and advertisements seeking to piggyback on the moon mission to make money.  The cultural differences between US and South African reporting also attracted comment.  I think they'll find it useful.

After the handover and lunch at the museum restaurant, we spent a few hours touring the exhibits.  The massive hall where the Saturn V rocket is displayed, along with dioramas and memorabilia from the space program, is very impressive - definitely worth a visit if you find yourself near Huntsville.  I thought I was pretty well informed about the Apollo program, but learned a lot of things I hadn't known before.  A couple of docents were present, men who'd worked on the program in their younger days, and I overheard them giving fascinating 'inside information' to several visitors - the sort of tidbits that only those who'd been there would know.

The drive down wasn't too bad, but the drive back to Nashville was exhausting.  For some reason there were lots of 18-wheelers on the road, some of which were being driven very badly, hogging the fast lane, refusing to get out of the way of faster traffic, and running for miles alongside each other with a growing tail of impatient faster vehicles behind them.  That's always exasperating, particularly when one runs into one after another of these idiots.  Oh, well . . . at least we got home safely.  That's the most important thing!

Peter

4 comments:

Rev. Paul said...

I visited the Johnson Space Center in Houston, back in '77, but never Huntsville. Hmm.

Murphy's Law said...

Ah yes...nothing like spending miles behind a truck doing 56mph as it tries to pass another truck doing 55.9mph. And the worst part is, there IS a law against that.

As for the travel, I always like the first rest area inside Alabama on 65...the one with the Saturn rocket standing there. When I'd see that rocket and play Skynard's Sweet Home Alabama on the tape deck, I'd know I was truly back in the South.

Quartermaster said...

That's not a "fast lane." It's a passing lane. Everyone is supposed to keep right unless they are passing.

Anonymous said...

Truckers are no longer professional. I see it all the time they will pull out in front of you and drive 1 mile an hour faster that the truck they are next to. No longer will I show them courtousy or respect.