The Tourists Go Home

All too soon it was time to take them back to LAX

The saloon at closing time.

Aw! ain't that cute!

At the airport ready to go.

Well, ready or not the pilot was.

So off you go...

"We'll meet again..."

Imagine violins in the background and the voice of Vera Lynn.

We must bid you

Auf Wiedesehen, Pet

The End Of The Season

The Hotel Ameri-Cain 2014 Season Comes To An End.

As fall begins, the vacation season ends, we are not like Blackpool with their illuminations to extend the season almost until December.

Apart from which we don't have any trams which can be made to look like boats.

The temperatures have started to plummet.

It was not even 75 degrees this afternoon around Six PM.

After the last guests have left, we visit the local places they enjoyed.

This is where Tess had a Starbucks on the starboard!

The gulls were looking for the Lambert & Butler filter tips.

"Lonely party of one" waiting for a table at Rainbow Harbor.

Where's my shipmate?

Then it is back to work at the Hotel.

We need to get all of the facilities in order for the severe winter weather ahead.

Close up the gazebo, stack the chairs, roll up the sun umbrellas.

Defrost the refrigerator in the guest bedroom, see if they left an odd beer or so in there.

Clean up all the dead, tanned skin from the bathtub.

Here a spot of essential maintenance work is carried out.

Hotel AmeriCain is now closed for the season.

No further bookings will be accepted for 2014 (unless of course you are a friend of  Anne's)

Reservations are now being accepted for 2015.

See the sign below.

Certain T&Cs will of course apply and a statement written by the hotel attorneys will be available with the booking forms.

Essentially the statement will say that whatever we say goes and that if you want to complain, you "must go to" our employee who deals with such matters.

Ms. Helen Back

Special Edition

Following a very impertinent comment from my nephew Steven about his Dad, we decided that a response was in order.

A list of activities each with a different hat!

Frying

Sleeping

Irrigating

Filing

Pouring

Oggling

Sweeping

The first letters of these activities are an acronym and can be rearranged in to a well known phrase or saying.

Which, my dear nephew, I'm sure that even you can decipher.

Remember!

Ciao Bella

Norm

California Science Center

The Best $2 You Can Spend

Today we took a trip out to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

To book the tickets for the Endeavor costs $2 per person for the online "print your ticket at home" service and is worth it so that you do not have to wait in line.

The exhibits are fantastic.

This SR 71 Blackbird is out front.

The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft.^[1] It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s byLockheed and its Skunk Works division. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the design's innovative concepts. During reconnaissance missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outfly the missile.^[2]

The SR-71 served with the U.S. Air Force from 1964 to 1998. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents, but none lost to enemy action.^[3][4] The SR-71 has been given several nicknames, includingBlackbird and Habu.^[5] Since 1976, it has held the world record for the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft, a record previously held by the YF-12.^[6][7][8

Once inside the building more planes are on display in various flight exhibits. 

However, the main purpose of our visit was to see the 

So we kind of got inside and headed right for it.

Here's Ron checking out the launch control center.

This was all original equipment donated by Rocketdyne when the program ended.

This control area was designated:

ROSC

Rocketdyne Operational Support Center

From here they could monitor the main engine performance and advise NASA about any malfunctions and the appropriate steps needed for correction.

These are some of the heat resistant tiles on the underside of the shuttle used to protect the vehicle from the extreme temperatures experienced during re-entry. As you can see, each one is numbered to indicate its' position on the vehicle.

Ron checking out the main engine display.

These are some of the most powerful rocket engines ever developed.

The Rocketdyne RS-25, otherwise known as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine that was used on NASA's Space Shuttle and is planned to be used on its successor, the Space Launch System. Built in the United States by Rocketdyne, the RS-25 burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen & liquid oxygen propellants, with each engine producing 1,859 kN (418,000 lb_f) of thrust at liftoff. Although the RS-25 can trace its heritage back to the 1960s, concerted development of the engine began in the 1970s, with the first flight, STS-1, occurring on April 12, 1981. The RS-25 has undergone several upgrades over its operational history to improve the engine's reliability, safety and maintenance load.

The engine produces a specific impulse (I_sp) of 452 seconds (4.43 km/s) in a vacuum, or 366 seconds (3.59 km/s) at sea level, has a mass of approximately 3.5 tonnes (7,700 pounds), and is capable of throttling between 67% and 109% of its rated power level in one-percent increments. The RS-25 operates under temperatures ranging from −253 °C (−423 °F) to 3,315 °C (6,000 °F).^[1]

On the Space Shuttle, the RS-25 was used in clusters of three engines mounted in the aft structure of the Orbiter, with fuel being drawn from the external tank. The engines were used for propulsion during the entirety of the spacecraft's ascent, with additional thrust being provided by two solid rocket boosters and the orbiter's two AJ-10-190 Orbital Maneuvering System engines. Following each flight, the engines were removed from the orbiter, inspected and refurbished before being reused on another mission.

So Now You Know!

All in all a wonderful experience.

The Visit To The Iowa

Ron's Big Day Out On Board The Big Stick!

We arranged a trip to the Iowa so that we could experience a special tour.

It's not called the "Big Stick" for nothing.

There are three main gun turrets on the ship, each with three 16 inch fifty caliber guns.

That means, the guns fire 16 inch diameter projectiles where the barrel length is fifty times the bore or 50 x 16 inches, more than 66 feet long.

Here's Ron with one of the practice rounds.

 The details of the round are shown here, over 1900 pounds!!!!

Here you see a practice round with the propellant bags, six of them.

This is enough to fire the round over 25 miles.

Here's Ron with a section of  16 inch barrel which was on the Iowa, number 2 turret.

This piece was rescued from a scrap facility and purchased by a donor for display on board.

We, that is to say Shultz Steel Company, had the honor of making the display support for this historical piece.

Ron headed down Broadway.

Now here is a real test of those two artificial knees, he was beginning to sweat a little by this point. We were almost at the lowest level of the ship, just above the triple bottom spaces.

At the main steam valve control for one of the four engines.

Green valve for forward, red valve for astern.

The triggers for the 16 inch guns.

You just can't tell some people anything!

How did he get that fat butt into the 5 inch gun turret on those two dicky knees?

He did, and here's the proof, he's adjacent to the breach of one the the two guns in this turret.

It was not an easy tour but Ron did it because he really wanted to and would not let anything stand in his way.

Here we bid farewell to our tour guide Bill.

We really saw some wonderful stuff today.

The entrance to the aromored bridge, 16 inch class A armor.

Looking aft over the rear turret at the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

The Big Stick, BB-61, USS Iowa.

I even picked up a recipe whilst we were on board.

I might try this the next time 2,500 of my best friends want to drop by.

Ciao Bella

and more soon from the continuing saga.

Norm