Thursday, November 20, 2008
Miami Seaquarium
Looks like today will be a beautiful day, the delightful sun shined right into my face after opening the hotel blinds this morning. I could not wait to go to the Miami Seaquarium which was one of my main objectives for this trip. Got all my gear together and I left for the front desk of the Clay Hotel. After I confirmed with the clerk I had to wait on the side walk for the bus to pick me up which supposedly would take me to the Seaquarium.
Surprisingly I was the only person going to the Seaquarium, since my hotel arranges all kinds of trips within Miami there were more people waiting to hop on some bus for another Miami adventure.
After waiting at least 30 minutes after pickup time I started to wonder where to bus was. Luckily the people that booked the City Tour could drop me off at the Seaquarium... because I was the only one I guess the must have canceled the bus ride without informing me.
Unfortunately I had to stick through at least half the City Tour before they dropped me off, this sucked since I already saw the City Tour 2 days earlier. Once the bus got to Little Havana another waited for me to bring me to the Seaquarium as a curtosy from the touring company.
Quite fun getting a private bus ride to the Seaquarium I can say.
Once at the Seaquarium I was presented the options to pay $40 for the park or $240 to get the exclusive package which allows you to swim with a dolphin. Luckily the girl at the cashier recommended me a timeslot where not many people signed up for the dolphins. This was great so it wouldn't be packed once I got there.
The Miami Seaquarium was a great experience. I don't think it can compare to the Orlando Seaworld though. After seeing the Dolphin show (where they flimed "Flipper" the TV series) I moved on to the crocodiles & the Killer Whale show. It was funny to see that still people sit on the front rows when they know they will get wet as hell. So eventually the whale aired out of the water and splashed the entire front rows and people started to complain about wet cell phones and wallets etc. LOL. I mean c'mon.
After the Killer Whale show I progressed to the Dolphin Harbor. It was finally going to happen, I waited a long time to swim with dolphins so you must understand my excitement.
I reported to the lobby where I had to wait and met up with a very nice family from Santiago, Chile. These folks were on a vacation and also purchased the VIP package for the Dolphin Harbor... that must have cost a pretty penny for 4 adults.
An instructor waited for us and showed us a DVD explaining all the rules regarding swimming with dolphins. After the presentation the instructor brought us to the pool and we got dolphin instructors assigned. My luck reached its high when they separated me from the Chilean family and brought out a dolphin all to myself. The instructor explained that it was the low-season in November for Miami because usually they handle 5 to 10 people per dolphin.
So now I got to enjoy the full 30 minutes with the dolphin alone which also allowed me to do some more random tricks.
It was quite funny when the dolphin took a piss right in front of me, maybe that is the dolphin way of greeting a human being...lol. Also cool to mention is that I got my own person photographer who worked for the Seaquarium this was great so I could have someone else record video on my own camera at the same time.
Dolphins are very humble creatures. At one point I was up-side-down in the water moving my feet above water while the dolphin was flapping with its tail fin at the same time. The dolphin also took me from one side of the pool to the other side and back while I held his dorsal fin. After the show we entered a quality dressing room with some great showers. After getting dressed I rushed to the photo desk to collect the pictures that were taken only to hear I had to pay another $60 for the CD, pricey but than again I won't be doing this every day.
It stayed a bit too long at the harbor which caused the bus driver to be a little aggravated (once I got to the exit) since he still had to pickup the entire City Tour group but in the end all was well.
The experience was definitely another milestone in my life.
Surprisingly I was the only person going to the Seaquarium, since my hotel arranges all kinds of trips within Miami there were more people waiting to hop on some bus for another Miami adventure.
After waiting at least 30 minutes after pickup time I started to wonder where to bus was. Luckily the people that booked the City Tour could drop me off at the Seaquarium... because I was the only one I guess the must have canceled the bus ride without informing me.
Unfortunately I had to stick through at least half the City Tour before they dropped me off, this sucked since I already saw the City Tour 2 days earlier. Once the bus got to Little Havana another waited for me to bring me to the Seaquarium as a curtosy from the touring company.
Quite fun getting a private bus ride to the Seaquarium I can say.
Once at the Seaquarium I was presented the options to pay $40 for the park or $240 to get the exclusive package which allows you to swim with a dolphin. Luckily the girl at the cashier recommended me a timeslot where not many people signed up for the dolphins. This was great so it wouldn't be packed once I got there.
The Miami Seaquarium was a great experience. I don't think it can compare to the Orlando Seaworld though. After seeing the Dolphin show (where they flimed "Flipper" the TV series) I moved on to the crocodiles & the Killer Whale show. It was funny to see that still people sit on the front rows when they know they will get wet as hell. So eventually the whale aired out of the water and splashed the entire front rows and people started to complain about wet cell phones and wallets etc. LOL. I mean c'mon.
After the Killer Whale show I progressed to the Dolphin Harbor. It was finally going to happen, I waited a long time to swim with dolphins so you must understand my excitement.
I reported to the lobby where I had to wait and met up with a very nice family from Santiago, Chile. These folks were on a vacation and also purchased the VIP package for the Dolphin Harbor... that must have cost a pretty penny for 4 adults.
An instructor waited for us and showed us a DVD explaining all the rules regarding swimming with dolphins. After the presentation the instructor brought us to the pool and we got dolphin instructors assigned. My luck reached its high when they separated me from the Chilean family and brought out a dolphin all to myself. The instructor explained that it was the low-season in November for Miami because usually they handle 5 to 10 people per dolphin.
So now I got to enjoy the full 30 minutes with the dolphin alone which also allowed me to do some more random tricks.
It was quite funny when the dolphin took a piss right in front of me, maybe that is the dolphin way of greeting a human being...lol. Also cool to mention is that I got my own person photographer who worked for the Seaquarium this was great so I could have someone else record video on my own camera at the same time.
Dolphins are very humble creatures. At one point I was up-side-down in the water moving my feet above water while the dolphin was flapping with its tail fin at the same time. The dolphin also took me from one side of the pool to the other side and back while I held his dorsal fin. After the show we entered a quality dressing room with some great showers. After getting dressed I rushed to the photo desk to collect the pictures that were taken only to hear I had to pay another $60 for the CD, pricey but than again I won't be doing this every day.
It stayed a bit too long at the harbor which caused the bus driver to be a little aggravated (once I got to the exit) since he still had to pickup the entire City Tour group but in the end all was well.
The experience was definitely another milestone in my life.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Kennedy Space Center
The moment had finally come, after months of planning I was finally going to Orlando, Florida to see the Space Shuttle Launch STS-126 at the Kennedy Space Center.
I had to drive from Toronto to Buffalo to catch my plane to Orlando. Many Canadians travel through Buffalo because domestic USA flights are very cheap.
My flight was at 10AM but at 6AM I was still at home packing my suitcase. Once packed I realized I forgot something so I tried to open it up but that failed, I freaked out since I had to drive to Buffalo. What happened was that the combination lock had failed so there was no way to open up the suitcase. This would be quite embarrassing if you go through customs and they ask you to open up your suitcase and you wouldn't able to. So I basically took a screwdriver with my on the entire trip to pop the combination lock every time I had to grab something. This just goes to show how badly suitcases are secured, you can pop them without a problem with a screwdriver!
Once I hopped on the road towards Buffalo the vacation feeling was getting to me. Ocean, Sea & Delightful Beers. I got in quite some problems at the USA border. The people from the customs office were not going to let me enter the United States because my Work VISA for Canada was a year old and I wouldn't be able to enter Canada after that so the USA would be stuck with me, as the gentleman described...??...how stupid am I, to take the wrong Work VISA, so I ensured him that I was a legit worker and my name should be valid in the Canadian Customs database.
So after some debating he was going to do me a favor and call the Canadian Customs who, thank god, confirmed my status in Canada. Yes, now my trip could continue, luckily I did not loose to much so I was able to make my airplane without any further delays. At Buffalo I parked had the 'long-term' parking area where they only charge you $8 per day, not bad.
After a smooth plane ride we landed in Orlando, beautiful airport by the way. I rushed over to the AVIS rental desks to pickup the car I reserved for the drive from Orlando to Cape Canaveral which was like 45 minutes away. The car I reserved was unfortunately gone but instead they gave me a better car for the same rate! An amazing feeling; cruisin' in the smokey hot weather with a brand new Pontiac G6 while listening to the local radio talk shows, I almost felt like a true American.
I was able to see the Kennedy Assembly building from the highway once I reached Merrit Island. That building must be gigantic. Checked into my hotel which was pretty decent and treated myself on a nice cold beer. The weather was so nice and warm. Being in a foreign country in an unknown city all by myself, the feeling is memorizing, I could compare it to my first visits of Toronto and Tokyo. At night I took the car and started cruisin' Cape Canaveral for some sightseeing where I ended up at a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner on the North Atlantic Avenue. I met some great people at the teriyaki grill, some people had family going into space the next day and another person was working for Boeing and had to make sure the shuttle launch pad was clean & secured. After this great dinner and experience exchange I ended up at some local bars & pubs.
I woke up early the next day because I had to be at the Kennedy Space Center at a fixed time, they probably wanted to prevent heavy traffic, since thousands of people will be going to the center. It was packed at the Space Center Visitor Complex, which is basically a small theme park that has everything related to Space. A rocket-park, a space shuttle, a presentation of all the old control room, and a bus tour of the space center which took me to other facilities on the base.
The first facility was the Moon Rocket facility, I didn't realize that the moon rocket was as tall as 2 space shuttles and as heavy as 7 Boeing 747's, that is just ridiculous. Outside there was a tribune where you could observe the space shuttle ready for take-off in the far distance. I called my mother who lives in Holland from this spot to keep her up-to-date on the latest launch developments. After buying some souvenirs the bus took us to the ISS assembly plant where they have a few of the ISS modules for observation for the visitors. The modules showcased what a toilet and a shower look like aboard the ISS. There was also a small viewing area at the assembly base where I saw an entire Japanese section from the JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) where it seemed like they were putting another module together.
Back at the main Visitor Complex there was an entire field prepared for the space shuttle launch. I got myself a nice seat right in the middle where I also came across some dutch tourists who came all the way down for the launch. A few astronauts climbed the stage and started entertaining the crowd with space stories before the countdown. 7:50 PM it was time for the countdown. This was a magical moment, I could see everybody waiting for the blastoff. The astronauts were counting down out loud and once the last check was completed the Space Shuttle STS-126 took off towards the ISS. It was dark so all we could see was a bright star being shot into the air. With lots of noise we heard the shuttle followed by a smokey trail. My face felt warm from watching the burning star go through the atmosphere.
Everybody was enlightened, this was definitely an unique experience. After the show everybody ran back to the parking lot to leave as soon as possible since there was only 1 highway connecting the space center but...
I noticed the astronauts walking off stage heading towards their cabin. I thought; "maybe I could take a picture with one of them", so I followed them and knocked on the window, they let me in where we talked a bit about space and where one of the astronauts gave me his autograph, this was pretty cool it is not everyday you get to talk to two astronauts. The astronaut's name in the picture is Jon A. McBride, he was one of the crew members on the STS-41G space flight.
I had to drive from Toronto to Buffalo to catch my plane to Orlando. Many Canadians travel through Buffalo because domestic USA flights are very cheap.
My flight was at 10AM but at 6AM I was still at home packing my suitcase. Once packed I realized I forgot something so I tried to open it up but that failed, I freaked out since I had to drive to Buffalo. What happened was that the combination lock had failed so there was no way to open up the suitcase. This would be quite embarrassing if you go through customs and they ask you to open up your suitcase and you wouldn't able to. So I basically took a screwdriver with my on the entire trip to pop the combination lock every time I had to grab something. This just goes to show how badly suitcases are secured, you can pop them without a problem with a screwdriver!
Once I hopped on the road towards Buffalo the vacation feeling was getting to me. Ocean, Sea & Delightful Beers. I got in quite some problems at the USA border. The people from the customs office were not going to let me enter the United States because my Work VISA for Canada was a year old and I wouldn't be able to enter Canada after that so the USA would be stuck with me, as the gentleman described...??...how stupid am I, to take the wrong Work VISA, so I ensured him that I was a legit worker and my name should be valid in the Canadian Customs database.
So after some debating he was going to do me a favor and call the Canadian Customs who, thank god, confirmed my status in Canada. Yes, now my trip could continue, luckily I did not loose to much so I was able to make my airplane without any further delays. At Buffalo I parked had the 'long-term' parking area where they only charge you $8 per day, not bad.
After a smooth plane ride we landed in Orlando, beautiful airport by the way. I rushed over to the AVIS rental desks to pickup the car I reserved for the drive from Orlando to Cape Canaveral which was like 45 minutes away. The car I reserved was unfortunately gone but instead they gave me a better car for the same rate! An amazing feeling; cruisin' in the smokey hot weather with a brand new Pontiac G6 while listening to the local radio talk shows, I almost felt like a true American.
I was able to see the Kennedy Assembly building from the highway once I reached Merrit Island. That building must be gigantic. Checked into my hotel which was pretty decent and treated myself on a nice cold beer. The weather was so nice and warm. Being in a foreign country in an unknown city all by myself, the feeling is memorizing, I could compare it to my first visits of Toronto and Tokyo. At night I took the car and started cruisin' Cape Canaveral for some sightseeing where I ended up at a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner on the North Atlantic Avenue. I met some great people at the teriyaki grill, some people had family going into space the next day and another person was working for Boeing and had to make sure the shuttle launch pad was clean & secured. After this great dinner and experience exchange I ended up at some local bars & pubs.
I woke up early the next day because I had to be at the Kennedy Space Center at a fixed time, they probably wanted to prevent heavy traffic, since thousands of people will be going to the center. It was packed at the Space Center Visitor Complex, which is basically a small theme park that has everything related to Space. A rocket-park, a space shuttle, a presentation of all the old control room, and a bus tour of the space center which took me to other facilities on the base.
The first facility was the Moon Rocket facility, I didn't realize that the moon rocket was as tall as 2 space shuttles and as heavy as 7 Boeing 747's, that is just ridiculous. Outside there was a tribune where you could observe the space shuttle ready for take-off in the far distance. I called my mother who lives in Holland from this spot to keep her up-to-date on the latest launch developments. After buying some souvenirs the bus took us to the ISS assembly plant where they have a few of the ISS modules for observation for the visitors. The modules showcased what a toilet and a shower look like aboard the ISS. There was also a small viewing area at the assembly base where I saw an entire Japanese section from the JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) where it seemed like they were putting another module together.
Back at the main Visitor Complex there was an entire field prepared for the space shuttle launch. I got myself a nice seat right in the middle where I also came across some dutch tourists who came all the way down for the launch. A few astronauts climbed the stage and started entertaining the crowd with space stories before the countdown. 7:50 PM it was time for the countdown. This was a magical moment, I could see everybody waiting for the blastoff. The astronauts were counting down out loud and once the last check was completed the Space Shuttle STS-126 took off towards the ISS. It was dark so all we could see was a bright star being shot into the air. With lots of noise we heard the shuttle followed by a smokey trail. My face felt warm from watching the burning star go through the atmosphere.
Everybody was enlightened, this was definitely an unique experience. After the show everybody ran back to the parking lot to leave as soon as possible since there was only 1 highway connecting the space center but...
I noticed the astronauts walking off stage heading towards their cabin. I thought; "maybe I could take a picture with one of them", so I followed them and knocked on the window, they let me in where we talked a bit about space and where one of the astronauts gave me his autograph, this was pretty cool it is not everyday you get to talk to two astronauts. The astronaut's name in the picture is Jon A. McBride, he was one of the crew members on the STS-41G space flight.
Labels: buffalo, cape canaveral, ISS, kennedy space center, orlando, sts-126
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