On Tuesday we attempted to watch the launch of the New Horizons spacecraft which NASA was sending to Pluto. This event had been all over the news the night before, mostly because the rocket carried a quantity of Plutonium. If it exploded it was going to cause plenty of trouble.

At first we went down to a beach near Rick's house, one that he and Cindy watch shuttle takeoffs from. As we waited we chatted with another "art director turned photographer" and a retired couple from the Kansas City area. On several occasions the liftoff time got pushed back, so we decided to watch the launch from a local eatery called Chowders.

As expected, we ordered some of their namesake chowder, which was quite tasty. Our charming and attentive waitress, Jen, kept us entertained as the TV displayed the rocket in the background. Eventually, the countdown was pushed back to point that my companions had to leave. I stayed put, however, until the launch was finally called off for the day. Oh, well. There was always tomorrow.