July 28, 2011

Up a Creek Without a Wireless Connection

In my last post I wrote about going to Orlando with my wife’s family and how I really made a bad decision by not bringing any optical aid to view the night skies. OK, I learned my lesson and will not venture out without a scope or my binos.

I don’t know about you but I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have a connection to the Internet. I read Cloudy Nights Forums, check the weather, order books form Amazon.com, and on and on. So imagine my surprise when we unload our bags and I hear someone say there is no wireless connection. One of the kids wanted to play an online game and couldn’t find the wireless connection. PANIC strikes. I’m thinking something is wrong and surely I’ll be able to connect to read my daily paper, that’s what I call Cloudy Nights forum when asked, “What are you doing on the computer?”

So I unpack my laptop and plugged it in and waited for it to boot. Once booted I check for any

Field in Front of Vacation Home

Field in Front of Vacation Home

wireless spots around and find several but none are for the home we are staying in for the week. [enter MORE PANIC]

After trying every thing I can think of, it slowly sinks in that I am without an internet connection for a weeks vacation. I will never admit it but I think I felt moisture around my eyes, must have been a water leak or something. ;-)

I did bring my new Kindle loaded with a few books, I only had it for about a week, so not too many titles on it but it will have to do.

Next morning I woke up to no Cloudy Nights, no news reports, and no idea what the weather would bring later that day. :-( I booted my laptop and as I did I noticed it was grinding (reading) something on the DVD drive. I thought back to what DVD did I leave in there and forget about. I thought it was maybe a movie but could be a music CD as well. After the laptop came up I opened the drive and behold there sat a wondrous sight. I had left the 1970′s decade of the Complete Sky & Telescope: Seven Decade Collection archive in the DVD drive from a few weeks before. Oh what a nice surprise! Ten years of one of my favorite astro magazines and 5 or 6 days of free time to read through them. My “woe is me” song was over and I could sit back and read until I fell asleep. My PANIC attacks subsided from not being able to connect to the internet. It’s amazing what a daily dose of Sky & Telescope magazine from the 1970s can cure.

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July 27, 2011

Telescope Don’t Leave Home Without One

Every year my wife’s family get together for a reunion. Her parents usually pick out a city and rent a couple of condos for the whole group, up to about 40 or more individuals some years. This year they decided to go to Orlando, “15 minutes from Disney World“. Her family comes in from Chicago and way out in California for this occasion. It’s always a great time and everyone enjoys each others company during the week. Honest! :-)

When I heard the words, “15 minutes from Disney World” I instantly knew that a scope was out of the question. No way would I have skies any better than what I struggle with here in Northeast Florida. I mean it’s Disney World, I couldn’t even imagine how bad the LP could be there, so a scope was pretty much put out of my mind.

On previous family vacations I usually bring, at the very least, my Orion Scenix 10×50 bins. Last year I took my Orion ST 90mm refractor and used a photo tripod for a mount and a couple of eyepieces to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The week was during the 8 – 10 day old Moon so no loss there. By the way the Moon looks the same from Myrtle Beach as it does from my driveway! :-)

So this year with the words “15 minutes from Disney World” ringing in my ear I decided not to take any type of scope or bins with me. Man was that a mistake.

We left on Saturday morning with plans to meet at the rental company with Jack and Mary to pick up the keys, get the exact location then proceed to the condos/homes. We followed the map we were given and I noticed we were getting farther and farther away from the central part of the city. Hum?? We ended up in the Davenport Florida area under orange skies. I live in a red zone. What was really nice about this location was the FLAT horizons 360° from horizon to horizon.

Two Visitors

Two Sandhill Cranes visit our vacation home

The first night there we all ate our fill and settled in to unpacking and catching up with everyone from coast to coast. I packed a few cigars to partake of while relaxing or reading around the pool. That first night I walked outside and was astonished at how wonderful the horizons were here. I stood there with my jaw drooping almost to the ground. Why oh why had I not packed some sort of visual aid, scope or bins? Now I remember we’re only “15 minutes from Disney World” that’s why I didn’t bring a thing. :-(

My mind went into overdrive on what to do… then it came to me, I had to drive back home and pack a scope so I could enjoy the slightly but noticeably better skies here than I had at home. I went to bed that first night thinking about how quickly I could get home and drive back to Orlando to take advantage of the skies here.

Sunday came and went without driving back home, so went Monday but we did have a couple of visitors from up North, a couple of Sandhill Cranes made quite a entrance with everyone coming out to see them. They stuck around for the whole week, I guess they are fed regularly around here and make their rounds looking for handouts.

I never did drive home to get a scope or binoculars. But I did learn a very important lesson, never ever think that the skies, “15 minutes from Disney World“, aren’t worth a look with a scope or at the bare minimum your smallest packable bins because you just never know, do you?

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Filed under Binoculars, Equipment, Moon, Orion Scenix 10x50, Telescopes

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