Welcome Home Discovery!

A few weeks ago my husband happened to be reading his friend's status updates on facebook when he read one friend saying he was going to watch the space shuttle Discovery's landing. Discovery had been diverted to Edwards Air Force Base because of inclement weather in Florida. The landing was scheduled for just before 6pm and we learned of the landing at about 2pm. My husband and I debated going (Ira would miss soccer practice) but we decided that it's a rare event worth the hour drive.

I'm really glad we went, although it seemed that Ira wasn't too excited about watching as the shuttle silently flew overhead and down to the air force base (turns out he was sick as I found out late that evening when he began 24 hours of vomiting--poor guy!). Mark and I were so happy to see such a spectacular event. As a child, I recall my dad loving to watch the planes fly overhead. When we traveled he would point out the planes flying overhead: "Girls! Girls! Look, a plane!" But as we got older my sister and I grew more cynical. I remember once saying to my dad on one of those summer trips, "Yes dad, a plane. If you want me to be excited, show me a space shuttle." What a cheeky teen I was. Now I'm the overly excited parent calling attention to the planes, trains, boats, and even space shuttles to my children!

Following the landing we decided to drive through the town of Boron and happy we did! We found a park with an old fire engine and a giant dump truck (Boron is famous for the Borax mining in the area). Across the street is a small aerospace museum. It was already closed but we got to inspect the fighter jet in front. I may not mind taking a trip one day to check out the inside of the aerospace museum. Perhaps when the kids are a little older.

Disovery Coming In For A Landing

Massive Dump Truck in Boron

Outside the Aerospace Musuem