My Dad, A Pioneer in Space Travel

With the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the landing of the first people on the Moon, I have a lot to be proud of. With this remembrance, I have to honor my dad for Father's Day and him being one of the pioneers in the world of space.

You see, not to many people had a dad who worked as an engineer in this exciting field of space travel. He was an engineer who worked on some of the first intercontinental ballistic missiles, which preceded the launching of the Apollo missions. His titles included: launch conductor, teaching Air Force candidates and research and development.

We moved from state to state while achieving these objectives, and probably why I have vagabond shoes today. It was in the sixties and a very exciting time, which included the race to land the first man on the moon. I still have vivid memories of my dad working and living in Huntsville, Alabama. I was born in San Diego where he worked for General Dynamics.

How did my dad get into this line of work? He was a veteran of WW2 and was in the Army Corps. I ask my mom years later about his military service and she said, they kept sending him to schools which included this emerging technology.

 With this training, he was well trained to enter this important and emerging field of work.  His list of job titles included, launch conductor for the Snark Missile at Cape Canaveral. He then went on to General Dynamics installing Atlas missile sites in Texas.

When we moved to Huntsville, his experience had led him to research and development with Brown Engineering at Redstone Arsenal. There was a team of scientists and engineers working on the space program, which included my dad. His boss was Wernher von Braun, considered the founder of space exploration in the United States. I can remember my dad coming home and complaining about something von Braun had said! I didn't know at the time, the magnitude of his stature !

The technology my dad used working on the Snark and Atlas missiles was important in launching the first men to the moon. It was such a race to get to the moon. Looking back proudly, I can say
 my dad helped get us there! Happy anniversary to landing on the moon and happy Father's Day, Dad.


My Dad at my UF graduation. That is the O'Connell Center in the back when it was brand new.

You Don't Have to be a Kid to Enjoy Legoland

Legoland was such a great place to visit with my blogger wife in September. I can tell you that you don't have to be a kid to enjoy this place, located in Winter Haven, Florida.

We had a chance to stay  at the themed bungalows, located just across the street from Legoland. This is a separate resort called Legoland Beach Retreat. These bungalows were brightly colored with a theme from the characters of Legoland.

This place offered many beach style activities for the kids, but adults can tag along and enjoy also.
Ok, let me tell you what to enjoy while you are there. Don't miss the gigantic pool and grab a refreshing cocktail to enjoy while relaxing there.

There are also many benefits for staying here, including the free all you can eat breakfast, which is made for a king. You also get free parking at Legoland.

When you head to the park, you won't have to pay a big fee to park. Once inside enjoy over 50 rides with roller coasters and many displays of characters made entirely from Legos. Here is one of the many ones that I enjoyed, a large replica of Einstein.

My Book is Published!

I have been writing about 5 years now for this blog and other online companies. It is exciting to finally publish my very own book! The idea came to me in a dream, and I have created a short story book and want to keep writing this, as a series.

Some people say writing is hard work, but it seems to come easy to me and I enjoy it. The story is about a hidden vortex society of oddballs, which uses Artificial Intelligence to survive and rely on themselves for a better life.

It is now available on Amazon Kindle Edition and is free for a limited time. Here is the link and enjoy!  The Vortex-The Future is Now