Travel Log: Endeavor

So this evening, after a round of drinks at the Deck (as usual) we decided to take a chance on going to see the shuttle launch. Normally I would have decided to stay at the hotel and sleep, but after all, how many times in your life do you get a chance to see something like that. So we drove down to Ponce Inlet to the lighthouse. We hadn't been at the top five minutes when a ball of flame erupted to the south. We all gazed transfixed as the ball became a stream of fire pushing away from the cape. The setting sun glinted off of the shuttle at the tip of the trail. As it arced up and out to sea the flame sputtered, then re-ignited and the first stage split apart and the debris floated towards the ocean. It's amazing how slowly something seems to move when it's almost 70 miles away and miles in the air.
Then, just like that, it was gone, the fire, the glint, the trail of smoke, just vanished. Everyone at the top turned and walked down the stairs. Not wanting to be in the press down the narrow flights of steps I turned out to look at the ocean. To the north of Ponce inlet lay Wilbur by the Sea then the Daytona strip. There were thunderheads rolling over the Daytona highrises, sheets of rain pouring down obscured the northern end of the beach. The lightning danced through the clouds 10 miles up the strip. I waited expectantly for the thunder out of habit, even though it wouldn't travel that far, then all at once it hit. Except it was distinctly coming from the other direction, and it didn't stop. It took me a second to realize the thunder I was hearing was actually the roar of the rocket, 50+/- south of me.
So I sat there for five minutes or so, looking out at the ocean, watching the rain, and listening to thunder, all while the sun shone overhead. Man florida's wacky.