Someday was December 9th

Someday I want to learn Mandarin Chinese.
Someday I want to travel around the world in 80 days.
Someday I want to sail across the Atlantic.
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Someday I want to see a Space Shuttle launch.

Well, at least one of my somedays happened this Saturday. I traveled to Florida last week to witness the first night launch of the Shuttle in four years. The first attempt on Thursday was scrubbed at the last minute due to low clouds, but Saturday night they tried again and the weather was beautiful. At 8:47 PM EST, with near perfect conditions, Discovery launched into a starry sky on Mission STS-116.

I watched with thousands of others, from Space View Park in Titusville, Florida about 10 miles away from the launch site. It was spectacular. The launch lit up the sky like daylight, the sound shook the ground and even at 10 miles away you could feel the heat from the rocket blast. There were many tears of pride and joy in the crowd.

If you ever get a chance, go see a launch…or at least cross a “someday” off your list.

There are some more photos on Flickr here.