Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral...

Hi All,

We went on a trip to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at Cape Canaveral.

Part of the day included a 2.5 hour guided tour of the entire base.

Here are some photos:

BELOW: The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where the shuttles are prepared and the Solid Rocket Boosters are attached to the shuttle prior to the trip out to Pad A or Pad B on the 'Crawler':









BELOW: The tracks the 'Crawler' travels on. Off to the left to Pad A and straight ahead to Pad B:








BELOW: This is the original Apollo 11 and 13 Control Room. It remains the same as it did when it ceased operation in the 70's:

BELOW: The Apollo spacecraft. This one took Apollo 11 up to space, then on to the Moon. It is the height of a 39 storey building!:

BELOW: The Apollo 11 Moon Landing Module:

BELOW: This is the Astronaut Transporter. This took the crew of Apollo 11 and 13 to their spacecraft:








BELOW: The inside of the van. Very basic inside:

BELOW: The Apollo Rocket, separated into its modules:

BELOW: Inside the Apollo 11 space module:

BELOW: This is the actual Apollo 11 module that returned to earth with Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins on board. It was white when it left, 3000 degrees celcius changes the colour on the module during re-entry:

The tour was very interesting, especially here at Kennedy. KSC is the gateway to space, the Shuttles leave from here and return to the runway at Andrew's Air Force Base not far from KSC.

It was especially interesting to have a look inside a Space Shuttle as well and how big they actually are in the payload bay.

Thanks,

John, Tarin, Kalinda, Kevan, Josh & Tom

The USA Titanic Exhibition...AWESOME !!

Hi Everyone,

I have been to the only Titanic exhibition in the USA. It was a fabulous tour and highly recommended. The tour guide really knew his stuff.

Here are some photos:

BELOW: The Titanic's Deck Plan. A copy of this was displayed in the ship's gymnasium:

BELOW: The Grand Staircase - a magnificent reproduction:









BELOW: The Grand Staircase, with Honor and Glory crowning Time:

BELOW: The Grand Staurcase with the Cherub light:

BELOW: Third Class corridor with security grille that was locked for 5 hours each night:

BELOW: On the Bridge: Note the control panel for the watertight doors:

BELOW: An original of the New York Times:












BELOW: The Marconi Wireless Room:

BELOW: Compare to above. This is a picture taken on the Titanic in 1912:

BELOW: The White Star Line dinner set and silveware:

BELOW: Some paintings and flags:

BELOW: Some books that have told stories about the sinking of the Titanic:









BELOW: A piece of coal salvaged from the Engine Room (2005 expedition):

BELOW: The outfit worn by Leonardo DiCaprio in the James Cameron movie Titanic. This was the boarding outfit for Jack Dawson:

BELOW: Some deck chair timber and a part of the cane insert:

That's all for now.

John

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter...AMAZING ! !

Hi All,

Today, we went to the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which is a new attraction at Universal Studios Orlando. It has only been open about 6 weeks and is the main reason we decided to include Florida in our itinerary.

Here are some photos:

BELOW: Hogwart's Castle:











BELOW: Hagrid's Hut (Front Door):









BELOW: Hagrid's Hut (Back Door):

BELOW: Hogwart's Castle:

BELOW: Honeydukes Lolly Shop:

BELOW: Honeydukes:

BELOW: Zonko's Joke Shop:

BELOW: Some items for sale in Zonko's:

BELOW: Inside Zonko's:

BELOW: a shop in Hogsmeade:

BELOW: The Owlery:

BELOW: Tarin with Butterbeer:

BELOW: Another view of Hogwart's Castle:

BELOW: Some more items for sale:

BELOW: The entrance to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter:

BELOW: Hogwart's Castle:

BELOW: Lollies:

BELOW: Chocolate Frogs:

That's all for now...

John, Tarin, Kalinda, Kevan, Josh & Tom.

A Day at Universal Studios, Orlando...

Hi Everyone,

Today we went to Universal Studios Orlando and to the Universal's Islands of Adventure.

Here are some photos:

BELOW: A car from Jurassic Park:










BELOW: The kids about to get eaten by a dinosaur (T-Rex):









BELOW: The main entrance to Jurassic Park:

BELOW: Jurassic Park and a ride that take you up and over the rainforest and the dinosaurs:

BELOW: A cool water ride:

BELOW: Tarin:

BELOW: Spiderman on a quad bike:









BELOW: This was in the Marvel Comics area:

BELOW: The 'Incredible Hulk' ride:

BELOW: Car from the 'Incredible Hulk':

BELOW: Josh:

BELOW: Kalinda and Kevan on a wild tiger:

BELOW: Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Studios:

BELOW: The main entry plaza:

BELOW: The main entry area and Universal City Walk:

We have a 13 day pass so we will have more pics in the coming days.

John, Tarin, Kalinda, Kevan, Josh & Tom.