The book Rocket Boys and the movie October Sky based on the book have been around since the late ninties but we just discovered them recently. As we were driving through southern West Virginia in early December we began reading the book aloud. It’s the true story of a group of high school friends in a coal mining community who teach themselves to build and fly amateur rockets in the late 1950’s just after the launch of Sputnik. It’s also a poignant cultural study of a particular place and time in American history. Tonight we watched the movie which does a reasonable job of telling an abridged version of the story. Definitely worth watching and most definitely worth reading!
It was an incredible experience to actually walk the streets of Pompeii, once a bustling resort town in the Roman Empire until 79 AD when an apocalyptic explosion buried it under 20 feet of volcanic ash. Archeological excavations since the 19th Century continue to reveal evidence of a thriving community.
Once the largest cruise ship in the world, Allure of the Seas will be our home for the next seven nights as we cruise the Western Mediterranean and explore the eighteen decks of this behemoth.
Our recent travel misadventures seriously curtailed our time in Rome pre-cruise but we did get to visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel before making the trip to Civitavecchi for an overnight in the port city of Rome preparatory to departing on Allure of the Seas tomorrow.
The book Rocket Boys and the movie October Sky based on the book have been around since the late ninties but we just discovered them recently. As we were driving through southern West Virginia in early December we began reading the book aloud. It’s the true story of a group of high school friends in a coal mining community who teach themselves to build and fly amateur rockets in the late 1950’s just after the launch of Sputnik. It’s also a poignant cultural study of a particular place and time in American history. Tonight we watched the movie which does a reasonable job of telling an abridged version of the story. Definitely worth watching and most definitely worth reading!
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