ÜberTubester Chixulubster

When I picked up the girls, the artist formerly known as Frau Lobster told me Mo had been asking for sidewalk chalk and rockets.

Last time me and Mo were at Stuff-Mart, she spotted a bucket of little chalk on the clearance aisle. Then, I was going through Hobby Lobby and spotted what I'd been seeking: a huge bucket of 52 large pieces on clearance for like $2.50.



I think Mo was happy with my purchase.

This was the maiden voyage for ÜberTubester Chixulubster, who is the tallest rocket so far in the fleet. I know this because I cannot put ÜTC in my car trunk, he's too über.



He had to ride shotgun to the launch. Now I understand why Randall built a trailer for his rockets. Is he biggest? Well, Thor's Candycane and Mr. Creosote are both pretty big. Weight-wise, all three of those are pretty close. They are the sort of rockets that seem to struggle into the sky. Satisfyingly slow takeoffs you can really grove on. And hey, ÜTC still managed to drive a good 150 yards under canopy on a wimpy little 12" parachute. And there was just about no wind. Tony G, by contrast, drifted better than a quarter mile.



No rockets lost, and that's cool. Of course, Tony G was the smallest bird I launched this evening, but I did launch him on a fairly aggressive C6-3 motor. Plus, there were water hazards.



Mo had fun with the chalk, but more than that she had fun with the mud. Every place that was dust when we launched last weekend got rehydrated by some intense thunderstorms last night (I awoke to another flooded garage/rocket studio/homebrewery).

Mo dug the mud. Big-time. I tried to dissuade her but you might as well try argue with the weather. There was mud and it felt good on her feet. Deal with it, Dad.





Which I did, when we got home. And it only took me twenty minutes after her shower to wash the tub out to the point where it wasn't such a bog the federal government might declare it a wetland.



Em and the Groupies (as DD calls them) came late to the launch. A boy on a bike had come by to watch, and he had fun chasing the first couple I launched. When he saw them coming, he made himself scarce fast.

Then one of the Groupies told me her sister hated 'that kid' because he was 'annoying.' Which I guess means he has a crush on her and she doesn't crush him back. I can relate.