Where are we going today?
I made several trips to Florida, so that destination deserves some attention. For instance, here I was visiting the Kennedy Space Center. Here’s a look at the Vehicle Assembly Building, where they put those big birds together..
The big one on the left is the front end of the Apollo space vehicle. They told us it was 54 feet tall.
Impressive.
Remember I talked about fishing when I was a teenager?
Yes.
The Space Center, as you know, is on Florida’s east coast. And here’s another stop, this time for fishing in the Atlantic. In Pompano Beach I took a boat out into the ocean and hooked a pretty good one.
A 37 1/2 pound Wahoo.
Good one.
Yeah. Salt-water fishing is different from fresh-water fishing. Heavier tackle. Different technique. But the result is gratifying.
I would say so.
Now we go over to Florida’s west coast, along the Gulf of Mexico.
And in Sarasota I visited the Ringling Brothers Circus Museum.
A lot of cool stuff there, but what especially caught my eye was this circus wagon.
According to my notes, taken from that sign, it was built in 1878 and is the oldest existing bandwagon.
Also, it h.as been seen by more people in more countries than any other vehicle.
Interesting.
It was pulled by horses and has traveled further than any other vehicle. Of course, that was true at the time I visited, in 1973, but it may still be true.
And not counting NASA’s space vehicles?
Right.
In addition, the museum had a simulated back lot.
They built it because circus audiences normally wouldn’t get to go back stage. The sign said that, in 1936, there were as many as 1,600 people in the circus troop.
Circuses were big many years ago.
Right.
Now, I want to end this session with my other stop on the west coast. St. Petersburg, Florida..
Okay.
Remember the movie Mutiny on the Bounty? The 1962 version with Marlon Brando?
Yes.
Well, if you remember, the studio built a full-size replica of the ship that was used in the shooting.
And, according my notes — and here’s some movie trivia for you — it weighed 480 tons, was 114 feet long, and had canvas sails measuring 10,000 square feet.
I had heard that it was docked there and that visitors were allowed on its deck. That’s the deck where the mutiny took place.
So I went yo the spot, and there the ship was in all its glory
And I went on board. And I even took the wheel.
And, of course, you took it out for a spin.
‘Fraid not. But, for me, a movie fan, it was a thrill just to be there, where the movie was shot.
I imagine so.
One thing I learned. During the shooting, only the action on-deck involved the ship. The interior shots — supposedly below-deck — were actually shot in a movie studio.
What was below-deck?
Turns out that’s where they kept all the equipment they needed to shoot the movie. The cameras. Sound equipment. That kind of stuff.
Interesting.
The ship did a fair amount of sailing around. And it was used in a number of other movies, like Pirates of the Caribbean. However, it came to a sad ending.
How?
In October 2012 it was sailing in the Atlantic when Hurricane Sandy came up the coast. Bad decision to be out there then. The storm caught the Bounty before it could reach shore and it was lost at sea.
A shame.
Yep. But at least I got to see it. And even take the wheel for a while.
Well, that’s all I have for this session. Next time I’ll have some other vacations to remember.
See you then.