Florida trip: Shuttle Launch

When I was planning my trip, I wasn't actually planning on seeing the Shuttle launch.  I just figured that while I was driving to Florida seeing things that should be seen, it made sense to plan on seeing the Kennedy Space Center, and Tuesday, July 26 was the day that fit into my schedule to do it.  By the time NASA seemed pretty definite that they were actually launching on the day that I was going to be there, it was only T minus a couple of days and I was already on the road.  On the one hand, it was cool that I would get to see the Shuttle go up; on the other hand, it was going to mean that I would have to deal with a big crowd, and I wouldn't actually see the Space Center.  At least, the literature says that it's not open to tours on Shuttle launch days, and I assume everyone is too busy doing real work on that day to deal with herding tourists.
( Pictures and some narrative of my Shuttle launch experience )