Day 4895

I made it to Florida. It's been a long day. We got up early and took Dawn on her sunrise walk. While I was eating breakfast, the roofers came over again to clean up and load their remaining supplies. I continue to be impressed by these guys. The roof is finished, but they didn't forget about cleaning up the job site. They did such a good job this morning  that you'd never know that they'd spent the past three days making the yard look like a tornado hit it. The roof itself looks great. We got some rain last night and there are no signs of any leaks. I really hope that I can put all my roof problems behind me now. If I never have to climb up on the roof again, that would be fine by me.

After breakfast I packed my bags. I think I could do this in my sleep by now. Every time I make these trips to Kennedy Space Center I take exactly the same things. I have a small bag full of connecting cables for computers and cameras. I have another small bag full of pills and toiletries. I take enough clothes for an extra day or two. Launches get postponed so often that you have to plan for contingencies. Everything fits in a small carry-on bag and the camera bag fits under my seat. Packing is easy. Trying to remember if I forgot anything is a little harder. It's easy to forget essential things like reading glasses and toothpaste. I always take a raincoat now after getting caught out in the rain without one once. I don't think I forgot anything this trip, but I never know for sure until I can't find something I really need.

Airports are weird. Spend several hours in an airport and you've got a pretty good bird's eye view of what's going on in society. Today I saw pilots with red hang tags on their luggage saying "We're ready to strike," I saw a small crowd surrounding a group of police officers trying to arrest someone. The crowd was shouting "Don't touch him" over and over again. I couldn't figure out who's side the crowd was on. Were they worried that the man being arrested would get injured, or were the worried that the officers might get dragged into a protracted lawsuit if they touched the guy. It could go either way. People are constantly eating at the airport even though the food is ridiculously expensive. I was kind of hungry, but I didn't feel like buying a nineteen dollar hamburger or a six dollar bag of chips. 

I think Love Field in Dallas is the best airport in the country for going through security. You don't have to take anything out of your bag anymore. Even computers stay inside your bag while they are being scanned. You still have to empty your pockets, but you can leave your watch and Fitbit on your wrist. Everyone reminds me that my driver's license is about to expire. Thanks guys but I can still remember a few things. Actually, I've got an appointment to renew my license next week.

It's going to be a long day tomorrow. I have to pick up my press credentials at 5:45 AM. This means that I have to get up even earlier so I can drive to the press office. We get to go out to the launch pad at 7:30 AM to set remote cameras and take pictures of the rocket. The afternoon is filled with interview opportunities and the launch itself is supposed to take place at 5:37 PM. If the weather holds up, this will be a beautiful launch. Sunset launches are the best.

I'd better get some sleep and make sure I set several wake up calls. It's a shame that Axiom has such a small window for picking up credentials. If you're late or miss the window, you are out of luck. Hopefully everything stays on schedule. The weather looks promising and I haven't heard about any problems with the rocket. We'll see what happens.

Harley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day