I set up behind the tree for artistic purposes. If I had stayed zoomed out, it would have looked better.

I also didn’t know exactly where the pad was and the place I set up was in the shade. I anticipated a lot of people crowding around at the water’s edge and I thought it was less likely my view would be blocked from my vantage point.

In addition, I didn’t want to have to move all my stuff at the last minute. I could see a good opportunity for crooks to grab stuff while everyone was looking skyward.

As far as the trail near Clermont, watch this space. I started in Clermont and rode to Winter Garden. If I had had time, I could have ridden the whole West Orange Trail from Clermont.

It’s very pretty, has lots of shade and has enough rolling hills to be fun without being a killer. I recommend it highly. Given a choice, I’d ride west to east on the extended W Orange / Clermont trail.

If it had gone off later at night or not at spring break (or the economy was better and fewer people were on unemployment time) I don’t believe traffic would have been so bad. Sunday night traffic headed south is usually heavy anyway.

It was only annoying the first two hours. After that it was so surreal it was funny. The lack of gas stations or pit stops those first few miles was problematic. Remarkably, though, no one I saw was honking horns or acting stupid about letting people in or out. Very polite group all around. I-95 was likely a different story.

I got caught in traffic twice like this before — once Weds. night before Thanksgiving on I-75 when a wreck shut down north lanes for four hours; and during the bicentennial fireworks on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. That was trippy.

Love the colors of the smoke contrail. the;y made for a very neat sunset. Could you see the shuttle itself, or just flame, as seen in the video?

I’m surprised the traffic was so bad. The park didn’t look packed like I’ve seen in photos from Apollo and other launches. But now I know why we used to see lots of photos of campers and tents. Those folks can nap while the traffic goes away.

Where did you ride in Clermont? There’s a “rails-to-trails” trail near there I want to check out the next time I’m up that way.

You did 60 miles in four hours. That is great speed. Val and Mac attended a race in Daytona — it may not have even been the Daytona 500 but a smaller race. It took them nearly nine hours to get to their home on the east side of town.

—Matt

I don’t remember it being this bad the other times I’ve gone up.

Maybe shuttle watching is like childbirth, if you could remember all the details, you’d only go through the process once.

SLM,

2012 was my original target retirement date. Now that my first SS check is supposed to arrive next month I’d rather not see the world end quite so quickly.

And I thought I had it bad traveling 4 miles in one hour due to a stupid St. Patrick’s Day parade here in St. Louis. I mean really, 80 degree weather here and folks decided to waste it by wearing green, drinking warm beer and begging for cheap green plastic beads? The rumors are true, the end is coming in 2012, if not sooner.

Next time, if there is one for me, I’m booking a room far north — seemed everone was headed west, and mostly so they could get on I-95 (which they shut down!) or the Turnpike to go south: I’m convinced the entire cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm were in cars leaving the Space Coast – not to mention half of Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Ohio.