Launch? Launch!

One word: AWESOME. Ok. A couple more words. The launch was spectacular, and went off on time and without a hitch (beyond a bit of ice on part of launch vehicle, but that they got off at the last minute). We did wind up at Banana Creek, and the view was primo. There were a bit of low clouds, so we lost sight of the shuttle pretty quickly and couldn't see the separation from the boosters. But, the short time we could see it was completely worth it. The noise was terrific -- low and rumbly, then building to dense crackles like the finale to the biggest fireworks display ever. I also wasn't prepared for how intense the light of the engines was. You really couldn't look right at it without discomfort. My favorite moment was probably when the smoke started pouring out of the base of the launch assembly, ...