We started Tuesday Feb 18 slow, leaving to visit Canaveral National Seashore in the afternoon. We took Lexie with us, this was her second National Park that she has been to. We toured the barrier island that was between the intercoastal and the Atlantic Ocean. We saw the Eldora house, the remaining remnant of a small community that was growing oranges. The community disbanded after a hard freeze that killed the orange trees, and southern Florida was a better place to grow orange trees.
We then climbed Turtle Mound, a midden (or trash heap) that contained the remains of oyster shells from Native Americans. And the mound was very tall and wide, maybe 40 feet high.
After Turtle Mound we visited the Atlantic Ocean beach. We didn’t leave the boardwalk, today we were happy to see the surf and the sand.
After this visit (and stamping) of the National Seashore, we headed to Titusville to see a rocket launch. We ended up at a restaurant called “Shiloh” which was across the bay from the launch site. We didn’t have reservations, but they put us on a waiting list. Somehow the waiting list software seated us without actually seating us. So the hostess placed us at a table, but the waitress took 45 minutes to even show up and serve us water. We would have left but the rocket launched while we were there. We got some pictures (that in no way capture the awe of the launch) and some video. The sky was cloudy so the rocket was hidden during parts of its upward trajectory. We did feel the sonic boom that happened when the first stage detached.
After the rocket launch we did get reasonable service. The food was tasty, I had a shrimp po’ boy and Vicki had fried calamari and scallops. After dinner we returned to the car where Lexi was waiting for us. I have no idea how she handled the rocket launch.
Wednesday Feb 19 was “Kennedy Space Center” day. We again traveled south to Cape Canaveral (or close to it). At the space center we learned about the different rockets at the Rocket Garden. Then we took a bus ride to the Apollo/Saturn V Center. The Center highlighted the Apollo Missions and included a Saturn V rocket and Apollo capsule/service module hanging from the ceiling. Highlights included looking at the different spacesuits (real and proposed) during the Apollo era, and looking at the lunar rovers.
We also visited the space shuttle Atlantis, learning its history as well as some of the history of the space shuttle program.
We ended the day with a visit to the Mars Exploration exhibit and the Gateway project exhibit. The Gateway project showed the different competing commercial spacecraft that are gearing up to take people to Mars.
V – we love visiting historical sites and learning about them. The mounds were virtually the garbage dumps of the ancient natives. This is where they put all the oyster shells, clam shells, etc. after they were eaten. Archaeologists learn so much about a culture by viewing these remnants among many others. But the views of ocean and river/intercoastal were fantastic and National Park Service does an amazing job of making these areas accessible to the public. Lexie enjoyed all the walks and all the new smells.
Watching the launch, even from all the way across the water, probably 10-15 miles away, was thrilling. Pictures or even the video just can’t capture the excitement, the sonic boom of the blast, the ignition and liftoff. I’d like to go again, maybe see one of the bigger rockets launch and plan for an up close spot for viewing – being 5-6 miles away.
So glad we visited the Kennedy Space Center and did the bus tour out to the Apollo center. We could see launch pad 39 pretty clearly from there – the site of the Space X Falcon launch of Starlink satellites. We ended up having a very tasty meal and bought a couple of t-shirts with a print of a rocket launch on the back – pretty cool. I’ll try to get a picture of it and move it into this blog in a few days.
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