Top 20 Moments from #PGAVtrip
August 21, 2013
– By Dave Cooperstein, senior creative designer
If you haven’t heard by now, early in August 2013, our entire office traveled together to Orlando, Florida to visit two incredible projects, and we documented our escapades via Twitter. So, I decided to make a list.
My friend and colleague April likes to make lists. So do I. Lists keep us organized. Lists build anticipation. Lists highlight the best. I probably should have organized this paragraph as a list.
And that weekend’s trip deserves a ‘Best Of’ list.
So, without further ado, I give you my personal Top 20 Moments from #PGAVtrip:
20. Yes, we had to wake up early. But sometimes it’s worth it.
19. Even the big dogs came along for the ride!
18. That’s right. On our way to see penguins in Antarctica, we flew on Penguin One. I have a feeling that wasn’t just blind luck…
17. Dressed in full penguin garb, Rosey manages to talk her way into the cockpit of Penguin One. I think she violated about five FAA rules but, again…worth it.
16. When’s the last time YOU had someone waiting for you at the airport with a sign? (even if it was in Arial Bold)…
15. …within a mile of starting our adventure, President Obama’s motorcade put a pause on our wheels.
14. And then we got to see what we came to see. And it was cool. (See what I did there?)
13. Some things on this trip were just meant to be. Coincidence? I think not.
12. We even got to have drinks with Shamu. (He knows a thing or two about liquids.)
11. And we paid tribute to our friend and mentor.
10. Yes, we were on the Jumbotron. And we got all of Shamu Stadium to do the wave. For 15 minutes. Because they refused to stop.
9. With the inventor of the Klingon language along for the ride, you knew we were in for a wild time!
8. On the way to the Kennedy Space Center, is there any other movie you should watch? (Apparently so…our bus was playing “The Amazing Spiderman,” but oh well.)
7. PGAV Vice President Al Cross masters the selfie.
6. Every person in this photo is a co-worker of mine. Or their spouse. Or friend.
5. Yeah. It was just that hot. And there were a lot of us.
4. We learned lots of fun trivia. Geeky space trivia – the best kind.
3. We got to shake astronaut Chris Ferguson’s hand. Every one of us.
2. Seeing one of man’s most complex accomplishments, inside of a building that you helped to design, was absolutely a top moment.
1. But even after the amazement of Space Shuttle Atlantis and the incredible accomplishment of putting Antarctica in Orlando, our team is captivated by a five-hour flight-delayed game of Superball. Once suspended in the airport terminal light fixture, it’s recovered by maintenance via a scissor lift at 10:30 at night after our incessant pleading. Epic.
Honorable Mention #1: ‘Nough said.
Honorable Mention #2: PGAV Principal Mike Konzen discovers Twitter…and hashtags.
For a complete review of the #PGAVtrip, check out the play-by-play on Storify.
