Grandad Walker and I Head to the Space and Rocket Center

So my dad came down this past weekend, and this was his first time getting to see Ivan. I think he enjoyed his trip. On Sunday, we went to the Space and Rocket Center. My dad and Catalina stayed longer than they usually do when they come down, so it was time for a fun activity! Also, being that we have a knack for going sight seeing on days when it is extremely hot or extremely cold, poor Ivan got super bundled up. The high for Sunday was like 29. Brrrr....

Well it started off with a 3D movie on the Sun. FYI... If you had a NASA badge you can now get into the Space and Rocket Center for FREE!!!! (This includes all of your family members) The only cost is the movie, which was $4!

This was Ivan's first time at a movie theater. I made him sleep. If they had made baby sized 3D glasses, I might of let him partake in the fun. But alas, they didn't have any Ivan sized glasses, and thankfully he fell asleep. Here he is after the movie...

The newer movie theater there lets out to the new Saturn V facility. And I must say I'm always impressed by how big that rocket it is. It took Ivan a little while to wake up. But the rest of us walked around, and under the rocket hanging/supported in the middle of the building. The facility decided that moving, oh, 40 - 50% of the displays from the old building to the new building was a good idea. It made for more room in the other building, now I wish they would update a lot of things that are outdated, i.e. The wall of women astronauts, it stops at 1994!

Some of the things we saw were rocket engines, the new CEV (Crew Exploration Vehicle, aka Orion) capsule, the new Ares I and Ares V rocket models,  the Apollo capsule, and the lunar lander. There were more things there, but I didn't get a picture of everything. 

Ivan finally woke up, and we got a shot of him under the Saturn V rocket. Of course you can tell he's impressed!

 
We tried out the Shuttle landing simulator. My dad had a hard time landing the space shuttle. Good thing he's a musician. :o) I didn't have a problem landing the Shuttle though. The simulation said I did a good job, and I've got Ben to back me up!

He looks like he's having fun right?

Then we got some pictures with Dad, Catalina and Ivan in front of the Ares I rocket.

And then just pictures of my dad and Ivan.

Ivan did pretty well for this trip. He's mostly calm when we go out, until he figures he's done with it.

And to finish off the excursion, I got Ben to take a picture of me and my dad. Notice the Saturn V in the background and the CEV capsule too.