I just got back from a trip to Florida to see my son and his family. While there, we decided to go watch the Artemis 1 launch from Cape Canaveral, which is only a few hours from his house. We got lucky and found a hotel with a rooftop bar offering an unhindered view of the launch pad about 8 miles away. It was absolutely spectacular. It was sorta like watching the sun rise in fast motion - when the solid rocket boosters lit off, the entire area lit up in a bright red-orange glow. Didn't get much noise, though, it was like a low, long drum roll; probably because of the distance. Time from launch to rocket being out of sight was about two minutes. I was 11 years old when Apollo 11 went to the moon in 1969.
If any of you ever get a chance to go to Florida and watch a launch, do it. It will be well worth the trip. I didn't take many pics, but I'll try to post one a little later.
Very cool!! One of the local guys here schmoozed his way into several expense paid trips to see shuttle launches and hang out with the astronauts..
I've never been, but it sounds like a neat experience!!