Almost every year growing up, my family spent spring break at Cocoa Beach Florida, in the Wakulla Motel. Most years, the main attraction were the sun, sand and waves and which t-shirt design to choose from Ron Jon Surf Shop. But one year, there was a 'space shuttle' that was going to launch in the wee hours of the morning. That meant little ole me had to wake up at 2am for us to get the the launch site and nearby Johnson Space Center. After a few hours of travel, we were stuck in queue for a toll booth, when someone walked by saying that we weren't going to go anywhere. Dad made the u-turn across the median with the station wagon and we headed back to a clearing on the water that had a great view of the launch site. We waited and wondered what was going to happen, and then suddenly out from a gigantic ball of smoke, a shuttle atop a flaming candle rose steadily to the stratosphere. From what I remember that was the first launch of the Columbia, but I could be wrong. I can still remember my Dad saying to me that I might one day get to fly into space. With the rise of space tourism, I feel that one day I may get a chance. (I just need $20 million.) Anyway through technology, I can still enjoy the launches from my home computer. (But I would rather be on the beaches at Cocoa Beach.)