Rocket Launch Adventure May 17 & 18, 2024 – Roaming with Chris and Tracy

Chris and I made a quick trip to Cedar Rapids, IA this weekend for a rocket launch on Saturday. We left late Friday afternoon and arrived in Cedar Rapids around 7:00, just in time to enjoy a Jamaican Beef Patty at NewBo City Market. After we ate and enjoyed some open air live music, that was very good, we headed to our hotel. We stayed at an Avid hotel, it was our first time staying in one, but it will not be our last. All the reviews said how clean it was and the real deal did not disappoint. The room was very comfortable, it may have been a little small, but I can live with a smaller room for the cleanliness of the whole facility. They also provided a very acceptable breakfast in the morning.

Saturday we did a little exploring of the area between Cedar Rapids and Fairfax before the rocket launch was scheduled to start. That is such a pretty area and we always discover something new to see and enjoy. We arrived at the launch site about 9:30 am and they were set up and already launching. It did not take Chris long to get some rockets prepped and ready to fly. It was starting to get windy, so Chris did not waste anytime launching, because we knew the wind was supposed to increase as the day went on. It was a good thing he got started when he did, because by noon they were shutting down, with the wind gusting up to 26 miles an hour.

Chris adds: The launch we attended was hosted by the Fairfax Society of Rocketry; it was their “Spring Fling” event, and this was the first time we’ve attended, though I’ve flown at their October “Hocus Pocus” launch twice. It was an enjoyable launch, but was windy enough that we had to end it early. I left one rocket behind, having managed to find the only tree in a mile. If you’re interested, I’ve created a detailed launch report on my rocketry blog site.

We might be stuck in a rut, but we went back to NewBo for another Jamaican Beef Patty for lunch. We don’t usually eat the same thing two days in a row, but that is the only place we know to get them and we don’t get up there very often. I am going to have to try making some one of these days.

After lunch we started meandering our way home. Friday we went directly taking the Interstate, but we took smaller roads heading home. They are so much more interesting! We ended up stopping in Riverside for a bathroom break, and decided on the spot to look up Captain James T. Kirk’s birthplace. For anyone who is not a Star Trek fan, Riverside, IA is the future birthplace of Jim Kirk, Captain of the Enterprise. The town embraces their place in history and has ran with the Star Trek theme.

Heading on home on the byways of Iowa we decided to take a small detour and go to Oakland Mills. We had not been there for many years, sometime before 2020. We discovered that the little Rock Cafe that we had enjoyed was no longer there, but there is a food truck that supplies very good food and they have a comfortable outdoor dining area. From there we went back into Mount Pleasant and hit the Interstate to get home. It was getting later in the evening and we had to get the car unloaded and everything put away after we got home.