Who Says Astronauts Aren't Cool?

Hi, all! 

I know, it's been a while since I last logged an entry in the old blog. Funny thing, writing gets in the way. :)

I've been very busy - getting ready to do publicity for two new recreational guides - Hiking Waterfalls Alabama and Paddling Alabama 2nd Edition - to be released any day now and working to meet my June 1st deadline for two other book, Hiking Alabama 5th Edition and Space Oddities: Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space.

While researching Space Oddities recently, I stumbled on this little gem. 

As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped on the moon in 1969, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson played his song, "Bouree", in concert. In 2011, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight (the first person in space), astronaut Cady Coleman took Anderson's flute 220 miles into space on ISS and performed a duet with the rock legend of the same tune.

Later, back on Earth after she had returned from the International Space Station, she appeared on stage with Anderson to perform "Locomotive Breath".

Some of the stories I'm diving into for this new book. Enjoying every minute of it!

The Weather Outside if Frightful

 

The weather outside is frightful... at least by Gulf Coast standards. We're hanging out in the 30s at night with a cold, icy rain. Tonight we're expecting low 20s with wind chills in the teens, maybe less. I know, for all of you up north, you're saying, "suck it up, pal!" I feel the same. After 40 years here on the coast, I still haven't lost that Yankee blood and I'm enjoying the brief respite from heat and humidity.

This weather also makes a great excuse to keep brewing cups of hot tea and chocolate flowing (no, I didn't do hot Dr. Pepper - and for those of you wondering, it was a thing) and fleshed out more notes for two chapters of my new book, "Space Oddities: Forgotten Tales from Mankind's Exploration of Space".

Two chapters in particular are getting bigger and bigger. One is on the space program and Civil Rights with stories of Ed Dwight who should have been in the "New Twelve" astronaut corps in the early 60s after completing all of the tests and examinations with near perfection only to have his opportunity ripped out from under him, and the first black astronaut (well, cosmonaut) keeps getting more intricate.

The same goes for another chapter on international space agencies and flights. It just keeps getting more fascinating the more I research - the story of the Zambian space program whose centrifuge was an empty 55-gallon oil drum with a trainee in it that was rolled down a hill, the Soviet Union's plan to nuke the moon.

Suffice it to say, I now have binders of notes and reams of bookmarks in Internet Explorer on these two chapters alone. I guess I should start putting them all together. Deadlines wait for no man!

New Articles

 Happy Friday, all! Sheesh, I'm having a hard time keeping up with myself these days. I just turned in the final edits for Paddling Alabama 2nd Edition which will come out in June (Hiking Waterfalls Alabama hits bookshelves in July), and articles of mine are posting like crazy online.

Here are my latest two articles on TravelAwaits - the first is a guide to paddling with dolphins and manatees on the Alabama Gulf Coast. The other focuses on some basic tips for hiking Alabama's long path, the Pinhoti Trail.

Till next time...

Spring has Sprung..Almost

 

Spring has almost sprung. Well, almost. But it is time to start making plans to hit the trail to catch some beautiful wildflowers. Here's my latest on TravelAwaits.Com focusing on seven great wildflower hikes in Alabama.

A Tough Chapter to Write

 

I'm finally getting my groove juggling three separate writing gigs - my two or three articles per week for TravelAwaits, the 5th Edition of "Hiking Alabama", and my latest book, "Space Oddities".

For the latter, I'm working on a chapter titled, "In Memory of Laika", and finding myself having a tough time getting through it. Not only because of the tragic details of the first orbiting animal, but also the many other animals that were loaded into a rocket, many of whom met a terrible death.

Most people don't know it but the first animal to fly into space was a rhesus monkey named Albert II in 1949. He reached an altitude of 83-miles. There were four monkeys in all named Albert that were launched during Project Blossom in 1948 and 1949. All four met with untimely deaths - three died on impact when their parachutes failed while one rocket exploded.

And that's only the beginning of the story of animals in space. Ugh! Somehow, I will get through this chapter.

A True State of Surprises

 

A while back, the Alabama Department of Tourism came up with a clever slogan - "The State of Surprises". Many people, residents included, thought that was an odd moniker but it is the truth, especially when it comes to outdoor recreation and nature.

Don't believe me? Then check this out - my latest article on TravelAwaits.Com.

Bon Appetit

 

Another one of my articles posted today on TravelAwaits.Com. This one will cause a stir (pun intended).

Founded in 1702, Mobile, Alabama is the state's port city, and it only figures that dining in the city is centered around seafood. Click here to read more and take a short gastronomic tour of Mobile.

Bon Appetit.