Hotel for champions
When I searched for hotels, I searched for el-cheapo hotels. Like I always do. The Champions World Resort caught my eyes. It was the second cheapest in the list, and it had pretty good reviews. Even better then many much more expensive. I checked out the neighborhood on Google Earth. It was clearly not in the middle of anything but Nowhere. But I didn't mind. I love cheap accommodation, as long as it is clean and safe. One report said that the police found a meth-lab in one of the rooms a couple of years ago. But that was then, not now. So I booked a room for the week. At $200 for a week, it was a bargain in this area. So close to Disney. The evening after I arrived, I was watching tv when I heard some banging on the door a couple of rooms away from mine. "Open up! POLICE!" an authoritative male voice shouted. "Euuuuukei!" I thought to myself and smiled a bit. I didn't hear anything more, and didn't go to the window to check what was going on, so I just ignored it.
Yesterday, when I was driving out from the hotel, a car from the sheriff's office drove out in front of me, with an obviously hand-cuffed guy in the back seat. Arrested at the hotel. Euuukei! Oh, well. The staff is nice and friendly, the rooms are clean, and the housekeeping lady always asks me if there is something more she can provide to make my stay more comfortable. A nice place.
Sinus
On the day of the launch, my overuse of air-con in the car had given me a sore throat. And I was coughing a lot. On Saturday, it had spread to the sinuses. I had a weak pain underneath my eyes, but hoped it would not develop. It did. As I was driving down the beautiful and scenic A1A, it got worse. And worse. When I got as far south as Fort Pierce, my whole face was a throbbing pain. My nose was running. My eyes where shot. And the head-ache was too much to ignore. I thought about it, and found that if this developed, I'd rather go back to my hotel in Kisseemee, so I didn't have to drive for a day with sinus infection and a fever to get back to the airport. Boy was I glad I returned. On Sunday, I had sinus infection, throbbing headache, and a cold. Running nose, running eyes and a hard cough. I stayed in bed. Set the AC to 80F, and lay under the sheets most of the day. Just left to buy some supplies, and let the housekeeping lady do her job. Watched tv most of the time.
Yesterday, I was a bit better. My nose was still running, and I was still coughing. But the sinus infection was gone, and so was most of the headache.
A place called Harmony
On Saturday I had planned to go down the coast to Key West, and I was driving on the 192 west when I saw a sign welcoming people to Harmony. The best little town in the world. 1200 inhabitants. The entrance looked inviting, but I was on my way south, so I figured I would look into it on my way back. But as I wrote in the last paragraph, I returned a few hours later. I decided to check it out. I was thinking that this must be the town Disney designed as the fairytale town. Where everybody HAD to smile and greet each other when they met on the street. But that turned out to be Celebration. I am thinking of checking that out today. It is only a short drive from here.
When I saw the sign, I had to admit the first thought that raced through my mind was : "Stepford wives". When I exited the highway and entered, I expected to see robot dolls smiling everywhere as they tended to their gardens or did their shopping. But the town was more like a ghost town. I drove around, looking at perfectly set gardens and perfectly kept houses. But no life. It was not until I was far into town that I saw a woman bent tending her flowerbed. And a couple of young girls walking together on the sidewalk. Otherwise. Nothing. No children playing. No grownups anywhere. I turned my car around and drove back to the highway. On my way back, I glimpsed a police car. But that was it. Maybe they were all on vacation. Or at work. Or something. But 1200 people was NOT around on Saturday afternoon. That's for sure.
On second thought
On Wednesday, I entered a 7-eleven shop to buy something to drink for my ride to Kennedy. As I was standing in line, I thought about what a drag such a job would be. Minimum wage for standing behind the counter. Scanning the products people were buying. Saying "yessir, yessma'am, how are you? Have a good day" to everybody. Why would he bother? Then I realized that the US has a high unemployment rate at the moment. This may not be a dream job. He may just be scraping by. But he has a job. He is making an honest buck. And that is something I should respect. It is good sometimes to think twice before one concludes. I have at times, when sitting in a fancy restaurant, eating 100$ meals, blessed my fortune of being able to do so. I try not to take it for granted. Anything can happen. Maybe in the future, I am the one who has to choose a crappy job to make an honest living. You never know.
Left? Right! Right? No! Left! Right!
Some signs here are a bit confusing. Not the signs themselves, but the spot they have been placed. Like in passport control at Orlando International. There is a sign posted on a spot where the walkway is divided. It says foreign passports to the left, and American to the right. To me, it seemed like I should take the left walkway. Not so, this was the entry point for passengers from other flights. The sign was for the passport control down the walkway to the right. If it hadn't been for the passengers that streamed down from the left, I probably would have wondered along searching for passport control.
Yesterday, I was driving up space coast, and I was entering a road that lead to KSC. The road split, and the sign said KSC to the left. So I turned onto the left road. Then I realized that hidden beneath the thick grass, was a yellow line. Indicating I was on the wrong side of the road. I got to the crossroad, and tried to drive as far to the right as possible. Smiling to the big eyed drivers exiting onto the road I had just been driving on. I pretended like nothing and hoped a patrol car hadn't spotted me...
Politeness
I am a bit amazed at how polite people are in traffic here in Florida. I don't know if this is just here, or if it goes for all the US. But nobody have every honked their horn at me. In Oslo, if I hesitate more than 1 millisecond to drive after the lights have turned to green, people are on their horns. Here, I have been expecting people to honk several times. But nothing happened. It made my life as a foreign driver a lot easier. Especially when I had to make some strange maneuvers to get to the place I wanted. Even when a woman cut in front of a guy so he had to break so hard his tires where smoking. No horns, just raised hands and shaking heads.
What's in a nickle
On my way to the Space Coast, I had to make a rest stop at a gas station in Melbourne. It was a small gas-station. But it had a restroom in the back. I asked if could use it. The guy behind the counter nodded, and showed me the direction. After I had finished, I thought I had to buy something for using his restroom. So I bought an ice cream. $1.37. I figured this may be the time to loose some change. I had a fistful of it. But I had not learned all the coins. So I picked them up, one at a time. And then I came to one I didn't know what it was. I asked him. "A nickle" he said. "What's a nickle?" I asked. He looked at me in disbelief. I smiled. "I'm sorry! I'm not from around here." He burst into laughter. "Could have fooled me! A nickle is five cents." So now I know what nickles and dimes are. Who says you can't learn anything from travelling?
Fear of the cashier
Once, I entered a store for some quick snacks before I headed on to Kennedy. I stood in front of the cashier when he mumbled something. I said "what?", thinking he had spoken to me. He looked at me, and I could see fear growing in his eyes. "I'm sorry sir! I didn't mean you!" I smiled. "That's alright. I didn't hear what you said anyway!" He looked at me. Fumbled with some dollar bills in his hands. "I was just saying the bills where stupid, cause they wouldn't lie straight in the cash register." I laughed. "Annoying isn't it?". He smiled. "Yes sir!". I don't know what he feared of me. That I would sue him for calling me stupid, or that I might be an Anton Chigurh.
Coincidentals
I was on my way to Kennedy the first day, when I switched on the radio. "You're listening to Space Coast Radio!" and then Creedence Clearwater was played. I was smiling. "Proud Mary" was a hit when Neil Armstrong was walking on the Moon. "How fitting" I thought to myself when I was driving towards KSC. The home of the Moon walkers. Then I saw the sign. "Challenger Memorial Highway". I was driving on the highway that was dedicated to the seven astronauts who died in the Challenger disaster. Later, I exited onto the Columbia Boulevard. Reality check. There has been a number of successes launched from the Cape, but we must not forget the disasters. Not to hampered by them, but to learn from them. One might say they should never have happened. But if we were to make sure nothing bad could happen, nothing good would happen either. "It is the dream afraid of waking, that never takes the chance".
The car
I have few photos of the car. More videos. I have taped some acceleration and driving videos, just for show. But they won't be published here. At least not now. Need to compress them a bit, I think. HD-video takes up a lot of space. But here is a photo I took yesterday. In the rain. Click on the image for a bigger sized image.
Going home
My blog hasn't exactly been flooded with entries this time around. But I hope you have enjoyed reading it all the same. I have enjoyed my stay here. I haven't taken too many pictures. Mostly video this time. There simply wasn't too much to take photos of, except from KSC. Maybe after I come home, I will go through them, and publish them here. They need some freshing up. And I don't have the software here to do it.
In 9 hours time, I will be on the plane heading east. Back to Oslo. Back to normal life. I have now seen a launch. The last one. Sadly enough. I wish I had come before. Maybe seen a few. But we always think we will have another chance. Another time. Some day, there are no more chances. So whatever it is : Do it now! Don't wait till the last chance.
Ragnar
Globetrotter
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