The Attack of the Wild Armadillo...

When we were in Orlando Florida for the STS-132 Launch so many things happened that we just know we are going to forget if we do not write them all down, so this is just a tiny part of the story. This is the story of the attack of the wild Armadillo.

So the story kind of begins at the end of a very long day. Carl and I had walked all around two different museums doing the whole NASA history thing. And yet, we had made it back to the park in enough time to get there for an incredible sunset. Carl had grabbed his camera, and we went to the pier. I sat with him until the sun went down and it was getting pretty dark. I had a flashlight, and he was doing a series of night time, long exposure shots from off the Banana river. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Not to mention how much fun it was to watch Carl so happy, doing what he really loves. But in the end the events of the day won out and I was exhausted.

I told Carl that I was tired and I was going to head back to the tent to get ready for bed. He said that was no problem and that he would soon follow behind me in about 10 to 15 min. Happy with this, I set off down the pier. It was very dark out, but the stars and the bright lights reflecting off the waterfront and the cloud cover from STS-132 Pad A. I thought it was bright enough not to use my flashlight, in hope of seeing more fire flies. I walked slow, and enjoyed the sounds of the water lapping on the shore. The children's voices in the distance laughing and carrying on. It made me smile.

Happy and tired I ambled my way to the tent. I was in no big hurry. I walked down the small gravel road, passing RV, after RV. The campfires smelt so wonderful, and the glow of the small fires in front of each campsite left a warmth in my heart. It was peaceful. I turned from the road onto a large grass lawn set aside for the tent camping. The field was soft beneath my feet.

I walked further and further away from the softly lit gravel road to the darker shaded area of my tent. I heard a soft russel in the cut grass not far from where I was walking. I turned on the flashlight and spot lighted the culprit of the sound. It was an armadillo. About 2 feet in front of me and a little to the left. My light stunned him and he stopped dead in his tracks. I knew what an armadillo was, but I could not recall if they were dangerous or not. I did not know what to do. I was scared to move. I quickly turned off the light and in a shot the armadillo ran wildly in one direction and I ran wildly in another.

I ran to the safety of the lighter better lit gravel road. My flash light still off. A man and a woman had been going for an evening stroll. When they saw me run in terror to the road, the man could not stop laughing. The woman shot her husband a stern look. The man asked me, "You aren't from around these parts are ya?" Still giggling. I said, "No." Kind of annoyed, and embarrassed. I told them I had seen an armadillo.

That was it, the guy laughed out loud not holding anything back. The woman looked and me and told me how brave I was for camping in a strange place where I did not know the critters. She asked me where I was from. I told her I was NASA Dryden in California. She smiled sweetly and her husband told me that armadillos are like cats, but nicer. He told me I would be perfectly safe picking one up and tickling its belly. And they left me to go on my merry way back to the tent.

Traumatized I made it back to our little homestead and quickly slipped inside the tent, got into my pajamas and got into bed. Carl soon came and I told him of the attack of the wild armadillo. Do you think he comforted me? Hell no, he laughed so hard I thought he was going to cry. He teased me the rest of the trip about making us all from California look bad.

So next time, I am going to catch that little armadillo and I am going to take a victory picture with him before setting him free. :) Of course I think I am going to have to wait for my next encounter when I go visit my sister for the first time in AMARILLO, Texas! <3

The Manatee's...

When we were in Orlando Florida for the STS-132 Launch so many things happened that we just know we are going to forget if we do not write them all down, so this is just a tiny part of the story. This is the story of the Manatee's in the Marina.


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So we are leaving KAR's park, which is a really nice camp ground owned by Kennedy Space Center on the Banana River. From the pier there you can see Pad A. It is an amazing area, green and lush. Well taken care of. And it sits right on the edge of the river with rolling green fields of soft grass. The whole place makes you want to run around barefoot all day long, which makes for the most peaceful, serene and romantic settings around. A few great trees gave the place character, and provided welcomed shade to hide under. The park is huge. It has baseball fields, a country store, showers, laundry facilities, tennis courts, and so much more. It also has a very small private Marina for KSC employees near the entrance gate.

One mid morning Carl and I are about to leave Kar's park for the days events, and we are heading slowly towards the entrance gate. Carl and I are driving the little Ford Escape we rented for the trip just leaving the park.And just off the grassy park that runs along side the marina in the water Carl sees out of the corner of his eye a big splash in the water. "What was that?" Carl asked quickly to me. His first thought with all the families running around, was that a kid fell in the water. The splash was a big one. "I don't know", I quickly retorted. Carl was already stopping the vehicle, and taking off his seat belt."I think a kid fell in the water." he stammers out. We both quickly without thinking jumped out of the car and ran to the water. As we got closer and closer it seemed as if it could have been a tire, but we just kept running in case it was a child after all. As we ran, we noticed no one was around, there were no kids, no adults, no signs of anyone around.

Then it hits us, there is a Manatee in the water. And then we see another, and another, and another. I climb on top of a park bench and perch myself against the railing to get a better shot with my camera. I keep hollering back qt Carl, "Do you see that? Do you see that?" Carl is farther behind me. Camera in hand now. There was a whole pod of them. Four, maybe 6 adult looking Manatees right there in the tiny Marina playing in the water. The pod was in the center of the marina, with maybe one or two further out in the safety of the over grown bushes and shrubs on the far side that no one could get to without a boat.

Carl walked to the end of one of the wooden wharfs of the Marina that was suppose to serve as a sidewalk to a docked boat, yacht, or other water recreational vehicle. No boats were on either side. In fact, there were no boats parked at any of the three spots where he was standing. All of a sudden he saw bubbles beside him. And then out of nowhere this full grown adult Manatee, in all of his gray elephant like skin pokes his nose through the water to get a better glimpse of this odd mammal on the dock. Carl is quick to run off several photographic shots right in succession of his close encounter.

It was amazing and great and a bit scary all at the same time. The Manatee was about 1000 lbs and about 10 feet long. Carl looked like an mere child in comparison. I ran to Carl's side, but the Manatee had already made his way back out to the pod. It was awesome. I asked him what he thought of his experience, and of course he was jazzed. And his first instinct was to rattle off a bunch of fast paced photos of his new sea cow friend. But he did admit to me, as much as he loves his camera, he was worried that if the Manatee had bumped the walkway, he could have easily fallen in, with his $3000.00 camera with him.

Well, we are so grateful that did not happen, and we are also grateful for the wonderful photos we got to get of them, especially our friend. What a treat to get to view these migratory animals in their natural habitats, doing what they are born to do. Eat, play, and travel! It was unreal, and remarkable!

This is one of my favorite things that happened on this trip. The right place at the right time. :) This does not do justice to how it felt, but on this you will have to trust me! It was remarkable!! I Loved It!!!!

Meeting Mr. Bolden...

I went to Florida to watch the STS-132 shuttle launch. It was the last scheduled flight for Atlantis. I want to share it with you.

You guys know how much I love NASA, and you know how excited I must have been to get the opportunity to watch a shuttle launch. But bigger then that, I love my job, and the administrator at this time is Charlie Bolden. He is a retired astronaut who was not just a Marine, but also a 5 mission veteran of space flight. He was a pilot on a couple and a commander on another. Charlie Bolden is right up there with Cornell Powell with hero status in my heart. Mr. Bolden is a passionate leader of NASA in a time of great change for the agency. Whenever he comes to Dryden people swarm him and there was never a way that I can ever meet the man. His time is precious and it is controlled very tightly by the upper management of the center.

Well I got the chance to go to Florida for the STS-132 Launch. And the day before the launch I went to the KSC visitor's center there in Orlando. It was the most magical place on earth for me. Some would argue that Disney World had the tap on that market (especially in Orlando), but for me... KSC visitor's Center was Better then any other place on earth. I love history with a passion, and I truly love all things NASA. Here I was immersed in it. Around every corner there was more to see, learn, and soak in. I was a big kid in a new and exciting playground. High on life and the blessings I could never have imagined for myself. I felt like I was in a dream. A make a wish fantasy without the diagnosis of cancer. I was on cloud nine waiting for the launch to wiz by so I could catch a ride to a magical star. Life was GREAT!

I had walked around for the better part of the day, and made my way into a gift shop where I was getting trinkets of NASA and STS-132's big day for the three of my boys. I had an arm full of goodies, and I waited in line to get up to the busy register. When I finally got there I reached into my wallet to find all of my credit cards, my insurance card, and my driver's license GONE! I panicked and ran out of the store with fear in my soul and my heart in my throat. I was flooded with all sorts of thoughts.

Someone stole it, a pick pocket. Someone was running up all kinds of bills on my accounts. How was I ever going to be able to get on the plane without my driver's license? How was I going to get home to my boys? How do I get a replacement DL? How do you do it from another state? And how long will it take? How do I get a hold of the credit card companies and tell them to discontinue the accounts when I do not know my account numbers by heart? I was so scared, and I began to become very frightened.

I instantly retreated into my mind and prayed to my heavenly father. Oh God, please, I don't know how you could see me out of this, but I really need your help. I know I do not deserve your help, but I really need your help on this one. I don't know what to do. Guide me. Please Father, HELP ME!! I tried to keep myself from busting into tears, even as I desperately wanted to.

I tried to calm myself, but to no a veil. I told Carl what had happened, and we began a frantic search of all of the places I had been. All the times I thought I had them out. I thought back to lunch. Did I pull it out and set it on the tray? Did I throw them out with the trash from lunch?? I did not know. We ran back to the area where we had been eating to look in the trash can. I was desperate and I did not care how silly or gross it looked. I had to find them.

When I got there I looked in the trash can, but it had been emptied and a new trash bag lined the can. I was sad, and hopeless. Carl thought maybe, just maybe I left it in the car when I went back to change clothes earlier in the day. I was headed in that direction, when out of the corner of my eye. There at the park in a quiet little cubby hole sitting on the edge of a planter box, bent over looking at his blackberry cell phone was no other then Charles Bolden himself. All alone. He too was visiting the park with his family. They were in the gift shop buying souvenirs, while he waited outside taking a moment to catch up on the business of running NASA. I could not believe it.

Carl was at my side with me and he urged me to go up and say hello to him. I couldn't. I did not want to disturb him. To me he was more then our administrator, our leader, and boss. Charles Bolden was an icon, and a hero. I had watched him speak to congress, and read everything I could get my hands on about the man, his legacy, his accomplishments, his history. I had seen him in person once there at Dryden... that was a treat, but he was never alone. Charlie Bolden was NASA Royalty And deserving so. Carl took the lead, with his bold confidence, walking directly up to him,extending his hand and introduced himself to Mr. Bolden and explained he was from Dryden. And then he introduced me to him as well. Mr. Bolden was so warm and welcoming. He shook not only our hands, but our arms as well. He was a normal everyday American, just like Carl and myself. He was just as excited that we came to watch the launch for our vacation as we were to be there. It was amazing. We did not keep him long, for we knew his time was valuable. But it made my whole year. I could not even wish that big. And yet, it was a reality. It was awesome.

What impressed me the most about the man, was that he was there just like I was, as a tourist, on vacation with his whole family. He had his grandchildren riding on his back, and of the thousands of people there at the visitor's center that day, very few people recognized him. As accomplished, educated, and smart as he is, he was also a true family man. He, like me, holds a passion for NASA, but much bigger then even myself, and for better reasons... he lived it. And yet he still found the most important thing on earth was exactly the same thing I think is the most important too... our families. I recognized Mr. Bolden, and I got to shake his hand. It was an honor, and a delight.

Right afterward, I made my way to the car, and guess what? There in a bag in the front seat was every card. Safe and sound. Carl was right.

Had I never lost the cards, if I had not stopped to pray silently to God from my heart, if I had not retraced my steps, if it had been at any other time of the day, or the week, he would not have been there alone... Had Carl never stepped in when I would not. I never would have met my hero.

The right place at the right time. It just reminds me how precious even our trials can be to shape our futures. I am blessed beyond all measure and I am as much in awe of meeting the man as I am in just how the events played out. I just had to take a moment to share it with all of you.

New beginings...

I am not excited about the next venture in my life. I am moving AGAIN. This time back to a place that is MUCH smaller then the one we are currently in. It worries me how I am going to make it all fit and come together. I am not sure that I can this time. I remind myself that things are just things, and all things must come and go for a reason unbeknown st to us. We are an ebb and flow of choices, and decisions.

Currently hate coming home to a house that seeps to the core of my soul with negative tides wafting from the neighbor across the street. The dirty looks, the foul expressions, the deep foreboding weight of the air that lingers whenever one or the other of us is in the front yard at the same times. I need to breathe. And in order to do so I choose to move. A move backwards, not forwards. I have made some side steps before on the journey, but rarely do I ever need to go backwards. This time I have too. No storage, no abundant garages, no cupboards... bare basics of life. A quaint place, more suitable to our condition... but more cramped for sure. The rooms shrank in size, and the backyard grew. No plants, no shade trees, no flowers. A blank canvas waiting for money to investment in colorful paint.

I am too old for this, and too over weight. What once was exciting, and reinvention of the wheel is just plainly a chore. One that is littered with back issues, tension and drama. I do not wish to go much further with the issues at hand for it will get me into trouble. Relocating myself and the kids use to be easy... when did it all become so hard? Hard to navigate, and figure out. I should be an old pro by now. I have done more then my fair share of moves on my own... this will be no different.

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It has begun. We are in, and for the most part the boxes have been unpacked, and the pictures are hung on the walls. There is still much that is missing in the enigma that I call a garage, but that should all be settled in due time. The place is beginning to feel like home. Slowly, the boys are settling in. The distance between everyone's living quarters is much closer thus the volume in the home is higher then we are use too. It takes a bit more understanding... and everyone seems to be doing their part to make it all work. It is a home. I have begun planting some flowers to make it more homey if only to myself.

I love having my own bathroom, and the backyard, while barren is vast and welcoming. It longs for a child's play set, a patio set, and a Bar B Q. I long for a garden and more potted plants. It will happen.

Right now I have other matters that demand my attention... 3 little mouths to feed, and a trip with my beloved to the other side of the country. Time will settle all things. Until then we learn to love the home, the location, our new neighbors... and most importantly each other.

A new home, a new beginning.