ENDEAVOR

I have to admit, when I first heard about the space shuttle Endeavors' final tour, I wasn't too particularly interested. The thought of wading my way through the expected crowds at the suggested viewing sites just to catch a momentary glimpse was a complete turn off. However, when I saw the next morning that the final route included flying over my neighborhood, I was more than happy to run up to the roof and try to see if I could capture a few shots, which as you can see, I did.

While waiting for Endeavor, I was suddenly struck by the poignancy of the moment. The space shuttle program was one that had existed within my lifetime. I remember watching the first shuttle launch and landing on television back in 1981, and in a few moments, it was all going to be gone.

It was roughly an hour late in arriving in San Francisco, which helped create a heightened sense of excitement, at least for me. So when I finally spotted Endeavor as it was crossing over from the East Bay, I anxiously pointed in its direction to a neighbor who had joined me on the roof, and exclaimed "there is it." We lost sight of it as it disappeared behind the skyscrapers of downtown San Francisco, but as it made its way over the Golden Gate Bridge and back into town, I saw another neighbor a few buildings away point up in the sky and yell "behind you."

We both turned, and there it was.

Obviously awestruck, we both stood silently for a moment, and then said at the same time "Wow."

So awesome.