Just finished watching the Space Shuttle Endeavor’s flyover of the San Francisco Bay with an enthusiastic crowd at the Stonebrae Golf Course. We were in the Hayward Hills, and saw it bank west after flying over Chabot space and Science Center. It was so close we could see detail on the fuselage, and sky between the Shuttle and its 747.
There were almost no commercial jets over the Bay – we were surprised to see any—and a few escort jets. Some of us straddled a doorway to catch simultaneous coverage on TV as the shuttle flew over the Golden Gate Bridge, but from our vantage point the bridge was obscured by haze. That same haze had delayed the flyover by about an hour. We didn’t share names, but bonded over a moment marking the end of the historic era of the space shuttle.
Many, many years ago I had dreamed of being an astronaut. The space shuttle program was fresh, and regular space travel seemed right around the corner. Through many twists and turns, I chose a different path, but going to sea seems to put me back onto the path in that dream. I won’t be going into space on a shuttle, but six weeks at sea is a strikingly similar endeavor.