16-17: nasa, robin, wagyu, considering a skin peel

April 2, 2025 to April 3, 2025

Indialantic

Today is a rest day (you know, after those three exhausting 20-mile days I just had) and the chance to get some things done. I had my new helmet shipped to Jon's and it arrived today so I needed to transfer the visor from the old one to the new one. I washed clothes in an actual washing machine, and switched out the dead USB cable attached to my stem to a working one. I also gave my bike a thorough cleaning, and took care of a few other chores.

Jon also took me to the Kennedy Space Center. I went there as a kid and wanted to see it as an adult. My mom worked at NASA in Houston as a secretary so I have a personal interest in Space Things.

I just wish I had packed some comfortable sneakers for the large amount of walking. But wait! I do! Have you already forgotten about my gigantic packing list?

tennis shoes on feet, wearing Jon's shorts while mine are in the washing machine

I took a lot of pictures but will just post a few.

this is the kind of tire bicycle tourists need (although maybe a bit smaller)

this is the actual Atlantis, not a replica

The bottom of this shuttle saw 33 re-entries.

I was surprised to learn that an astronaut was attached to the end of the long arm (referred to as the Canadarm because it was designed/built in Canada) that extends out of the shuttle's bay.

I enjoyed my visit but was a bit disappointed because the two main things I wanted to see were the giant hangar and the crawler transporter, but tourists are no longer allowed near them. The entry fee is a bit expensive ($75.00), and you also have to pay an additional fee ($15.00) for parking.

This is the enormous hangar where the rockets are built, and this is as close as you can get to it these days. For perspective, the blue field on the flag is the size of a regulation basketball court.

This is a telephoto shot, and doesn't illustrate the enormity of the crawler transporter. It weighs 6 million pounds (2.7 million kg) and can carry 18 million pounds (8.2 million kg) at 1 mph (1.6 kph).

On the way back to Jon's place we passed this church. I believe it's where Robin, of Batman and Robin, attends.

If you recall from yesterday's post, I mentioned that you should remember a picture. In it, I'm standing in the grass setting up my tent. There were consequences of me standing in the grass. Consequences, I tell you.

Even though I was raised in the South, I had forgotten about chiggers.

In case you're not familiar with them, they're God's punishment to humanity for Original Sin, not getting booted out of the Garden of Eden as some people mistakenly believe.

The fact that there are chiggers on the planet should make anyone doubt whether God is a loving God, or that He even exists.

Although commonly called "chiggers," they're actually the larval stage of a mite, specifically, Trombiculidae mites and, at this stage of their satanic development, are only about 0.2 mm. They don't burrow into your skin, as I believed growing up, but attach to your skin and inject digestive enzymes. To be more clear, they chew a hole in your skin, then vomit in it.

As you can imagine, that might cause some irritation. I had them a few times growing up. Those 2-3 spots on my ankle that would be extremely itchy.

When I woke up this morning, my ankle looked like this.

I had over 50 of them, all the way up to my knee. I eventually decided to simply take a knife and peel my skin off but Jon talked me out of it. It was a tough decision, though.

And I didn't mention that the itching can last up to two weeks.

If only I had some prescription strength steroid cream, maybe something like triamcinolone.

But wait! I do! Did you again forget my massive packing list?

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Steve Miller/GrampiesWe thought the picture was going to be to remember what the tent looked like before it got blown away! Chiggers are almost as bad. So glad you have that massive packing list!
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1 week ago

Mike AylingMark,
Stingose is effective on
mosquito bites
sand fly bites
leech bites
stinging nettles
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1 week ago