…and it was disappointing. Last night on the news, and this morning in the LA Times, we heard that the Air Force was launching the biggest rocket ever launched (a Delta IV heavy lift) from the West coast, and in a spur of the moment I convinced Leslie to skip work today and run with me up to Vandenberg to watch it blast off.

Having made a special week long trip in November to Florida to see a shuttle launch (no go – Discovery is still on the ground!), I thought maybe this might have the same awesome display of noise, power and deep rumble. Nope.

We went to the public viewing area for launches at Vandenberg and I saw what I thought was the launch pad – cool! Wrong. The rocket launched miles away, on the other side of some hills, and was tiny. But we saw the flame and maybe 15 seconds later heard the sound – about the same as what we’ve heard in the past when a jet takes off from Pt. Mugu.

Leslie spoke to a mother who’d taken her kids out of school and driven up from LA – very disappointing and a long trip back home to boot! But these are the kinds of things you have to try to keep the spirit of spontaneity and adventure alive! So I applaud that mom for her effort in trying to bring something new and different into the lives of her children, and trust today’s disappointing experience doesn’t dim her quest for trying something new again in the future.