Traveling to Huntsville - June 10, 2015

My journey to Space Camp started at the Baton Rouge airport.  My flight left around 10:00 am and took me to Atlanta.  I was so excited and could not wait to get to Huntsville!  I found myself searching among the passengers, who were waiting for our next flight, in hopes that someone else was also going to Space Camp.  I asked a few random people "Hey, are you going to Space Camp?".  They usually laughed and said "No, but I wish I was."  I then proceeded to tell them about my big adventure that I was about to impart on.   One man told me about his 17 year old son who just finished his week at Space Camp and the wonderful experience that he had.  Pretty soon we boarded the plane and in about 30 minutes we were in Huntsville.

It was hard to wipe the smile off of my face as I saw two ladies in Space Camp flight suits holding a sign that said "US Space and Rocket Center".  I had arrived!  At baggage claim a small group of about 7-8 teachers waited anxiously for the bus to take us to The University of Alabama at Huntsville's campus.  While waiting I met Jamie Pegg, a STEM teacher from St. Louis, Missouri.  We hit it off right away.

Jamie Pegg and I in the command module at the Davidson Center

Pretty soon we were at the dorm.  

After a quick check in and a fitting for our flight suit, we were off to settle into our rooms.  It didn't take long for us to become 6 year-old's when it came to the flight suits.   We immediately put them on and had a photo op.  

During check in we found out the names of our teams.  I was on Team Zarya!  The names of the teams come from parts of the International Space Station(ISS).  Zarya was launched from Kazakhstan in 1998.  This piece of the ISS was funded by the United States and built by the Russians.  The Zarya Module is 41.2 feet long and 13.5 feet wide at its widest point. It is now primarily used as storage on the ISS.   The name Zarya means "sunrise" in Russian which will come into play on day 2 of my trip.  

The dorms are broken into suites that house 4 people.  Four rooms, two bathrooms, a common room and a small kitchenette.  My suite mates were Pooja (India), Ebru (Turkey) and Kaci (Arizona).  

Ebru, Pooja and Kaci

After settling into the dorm, we went downstairs and waited on a bus to take us to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center for dinner.  We took time to get to know other teachers from around the world.  I also met a few of my teammates.  Our first dinner took place in the cafeteria where the kids eat when they come to space camp.  

After dinner a few of us walked to a local Irish pub (I use that term loosely) behind the dorm and had beer.  Great times getting to know one another.  I then went back to the dorm to settle down for the night.  When I returned I met a few more teammates: Steve (Texas), Allen (Maryland) and Greg (Poland).  

It was the end of my travel day and I was so excited to see what was in store for the week ahead.