Today marks 50 years since Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made that historic first moon walk. We would like to honor all the men and women who worked to make that increadable feat possible.
Our boys love a good adventure and would have probably signed up for the mission if they were human.
Since they weren’t around back then we were fortunate to have three brave and capable men to fill the role,
It was an exciting time to be alive. I just turned six at the time. While I remember watching the Apollo missions, my memory is a bit fuzzy and they all seem to blend together.
What about you. Who remembers this day? What were you doing and how did you feel?
Bad Cat Chris 
Great photo of the spacecats! I remember watching the lunar landing – I was old enough to really appreciate what an incredible feat had been accomplished. I still am amazed.
Pam
From the first space flight to the moon in under a decade. Today’s generation has seen nothing like it.
A friend and I decided to take a trip up to Rapid City, South Dakota, to visit another friend who lived there. There was heavy rain there that day and my friend, driving a Pontiac Bonneville like it was a sports car, caused me lots of stress and anxiety about our safety. I kept telling him the road was dangerous at that speed, but he ignored me. So, when he lost control and we skidded down an abutment, over a swollen stream, and ended up half in and half out of the raging water, I felt I’d earned the right to tell him “I told you so!” And I did!
The road was one on the way to Mount Rushmore, a scenic drive with lots of twists and turns through scenic South Dakota, but walking for nearly an hour down it in a heavy rainstorm, the fun of it soon was lost. I made sure my friend heard over and over that I warned him about his unsafe driving, and he had to endure that in rain-soaked misery.
We eventually found a home where someone was home. We explained what had happened and asked if we could make a call to our friend in Rapid City to come get us. Our friend was still working (Reptile Gardens as a rattlesnake handler and alligator wrestler – some summer job!), but his father drove down to pick us up.
I was especially upset with my driver friend because I thought we would miss the televised moon landing, so I added that to the sins of his stupid driving style. By some miracle, though, we arrived at Rapid City and our Rapid City friend’s place just barely in time to watch those historic moments in glorious black and white! As I recall, we were standing when it happened, still wet.
We had to stay overnight in Rapid City while the Bonneville was towed out of the stream and the fuel tank and fuel were purged of water.
The ride back to Nebeaska was a quiet one. I was tired to cussing my friend out and he was trying to think of a reasonable explanation to give his parents about how we ended half submerged in a raging creek in South Dakota. The moon landing took on an oddly secondary importance for July 20, 1969, for two young guys from Nebraska.
That is quite a day to remember. I’m glad you two weren’t hurt and that you were in time to watch it. I think if you missed it your friend might never have heard the end of it.
The three of us immediately contacted each other about this trip when the anniversary was coming up! It still looms over us after all these years, and, oh yes, men landed on the moon that same day! LOL!
Hahaha. Yes, that happened too.
The Dad here sure remembers. He had 2 uncles involved in the space program from day one and he has seen launches from every series.
I don’t wish I was older but it would have been nice to see all that.
Those were the days and I remember watching with the family around the tele. It is still beyond me how some think this never happened. Thanks fellows for coming to my birthday too
Timmy
I read that it would have been harder to fake the moon landing in 1969 then actually go there.
The hubs and I watched it at a friend’s house, in a beach town in Florida. Much excitement!
I bet that was exciting. Were you anywhere near the space center?
We were pretty far away from the space center, in the panhandle on the Gulf Coast. Just missed getting hit by Camille later that summer.
I came to Florida almost every summer when I was a kid but I don’t think that started until the next year.
WOW!! Where did 50 years go?? I was 13 when we landed on The Moon! I remember begging/bugging to stay up & watch the landing & I was allowed to. I wanted to be an Astronaut….especially with “Star Trek” being on TV.
LOL….I have a ginormus fear of heights & I doubt I could have withstood the training….did you know NASA has a Cam you can actually watch?? It is mounted on International Space Station.
Here is the link to it Charles:
https://explore.org/livecams/NASA/international-space-station
It is amazing to watch the cam…I actually got dizzy as they ISS orbited the Earth..soem astronaut I’d be, lol!!!
Thanks for a great post!
Sherri-Ellen & **purrsss** BellaDharma (who is keeping her paws firmly on the ground!)
The cam wasn’t working when I tried but I will try again. You are lucky you were old enough to remember.
I have to say it was the MOST magical moment of my life to that point Charles!!! Even in black & white it was breathtaking.
And NASA Cam has been down for past 3 days which is unusual…I guess we just have to keep checking on it til it is running again!
It sounds interesting. I will have to remember to check again.
I checked NASA Cam today Charles & it looks like they are installing a High Definition Cam so that is why Cam is not working…fingers crossed in a few days things will be up & running!
Better than before, probably.
I bet it will be…mind you the regular cam blew my mind so High Def might completely send me ‘into orbit’!!! (OH what a awful pun!)
Hahaha. 😁
Your kitties make great astronauts 🙂
Began me a bit Spacey at times. 🙃
Such an amazing time. My family was all lined up on the edge of the open sofa bed watching. Even though we were kids, we knew it was a ridiculously important thing we were seeing. My mother cried.
It sure was an amazing time.
I was about your age. All I remember is the interminable dramatizations of the projected landing. I think I fell asleep before they got to the actual astronauts.