Florida: Cape Canaveral...or NASA take two...or OMG I can't ...BEACH

Egads! Yoicks! Ummm...sorry was way to busy having fun and didn't blog...I see the relief...but there it is. I'm back having a down day in Florida.

Where was I? Oh yes. The engineering minded and new arrivals to this group holiday decided that Monday would be a good day to return to NASA. Our ticket options implied that returning for a second day was included in the ticket, so I agreed and took the BFF from the resort across the road with as they had the same tickets. Driving out there was fun with the never ending tolls but we got there and pulled into the parking area.

On arrival, we found that our tickets were only good for access to the Astronaut Hall of Fame, not a second day at NASA. Growl, hiss, spit. That meant texting my friends that I was having a change of plan as I wasn't paying the additional $26.50 to upgrade to the annual pass for all the children and myself. I decided to let the engineers have fun and wished my friends well and plotted. The Hall of Fame didn't open until noon, that was still an hour away.

BEACH! The kids and I piled back into the car and drove through Cape Canaveral and down to Cocoa Beach. First stop was the Cocoa Beach Pier. I think I had the Santa Monica Pier in my head from California. We were delighted with watching the surfers and the dolphins play but honestly, this was not a kid friendly stop. This pier is for Spring Break and fishing only. Plus, day parking use is $10.00. Instead of paying for parking, I took my crew further down to Lori Wilson park which had the benefit of being free parking, free playground, and lifeguarded beach. There, I settled in the sand and relaxed.

I was good at doing nothing for 2.5 hours. I had even forgot the book. I watched, and then turned my attention to the skies. Hmmm...I wonder if that meant thunder...

It did.

Racing for the car, the girls and I piled in and drove back to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. We hit a minor detour through the Manatee Park, but there were none to be seen. That was an interesting little museum. I am glad I did not have to pay their regular admission though. That was steep at $26.50. They had some interesting displays but very USA oriented. Roberta Bondar was not mentioned anywhere that I could see, which was a little disappointing. They did mention some of the other nations, but not much and you can only be admitted to the Hall of Fame if you are American. Smart folk from other countries need not apply. The interactives were fun. Need I mention that I should never be allowed to pilot a space shuttle. I would apparently crash it 9 times out of every 10. I can however manage to fire rockets. I wonder what that says about me? The kids loved the floor mat games and the Mars simulator too. It was a great place to spend 1.5 hours.

From there, it was back to NASA to collect the rest of the party. They all seemed to enjoy it and there is definitely more to do there.

On the drive back, we headed south to avoid tolls. It is a beautiful drive with minimal traffic and brings you back to Kissammee fairly easily. For food, we found Mutts on 13th and it was so delicious. Yelp did not lead me astray. This place is fast food with flavor. I had a pulled pork sandwich that was so good that I finished it despite being full six bites earlier. The onion rings were crispy and so delicious. We even liked the trivia cards that awaited you on the tables for entertainment. In the meantime, all the local Vietnam war vets strolled in. That clinched it for me. You know you are eating well when the vets take over the place.

The evening finished with pool time and a party in our room. Can't beat that!

Cocoa Beach on Dwellable

Florida: NASA and Cape Canaveral

Bright sunshine and clear skies greeted us this morning and it was a scorcher. Perfect! Today was the day for Cape Canaveral, NASA and a rocket launch. From Kissammee, it takes about an hour to drive direct to the Cape, but be prepared to be nickled and dimed by tolls. The toll road definitely can be tricky. It is direct but the tolls certainly slow you down. Nonetheless, the drive was over and you were marshaled into the parking lot. On arrival, be prepared for lines for tickets, including web ticket conversions into tour tickets, and lines for security, and lines for buses.

 However, once inside the Kennedy Space Center, you are directed to lockers to leave your lunches etc. and can play to your hearts content. We started with the early years of the Space Program exhibition and then got totally sidetracked by the Angry Birds exhibition. I think we spent over 45 minutes there before heading to Atlantis. This exhibition hall was incredible. Lots of inter actives engaged the children, while the adults could read and admire the displays to their hearts content. But, we had a tour booked and had to cut the visit short. The reason was I had prebooked the Launch Pad Tour. This was so worth the money. We were able to get up close and personal with Launch Pad 39A where the space shuttle used to launch from. The guide, John, was very informative and was able to inject enough humour to keep the children engaged. We saw wildlife like the bald eagle and alligators snoozing in the ditches. The landscape was lovely and the tour took us around the launching area with in depth descriptions on the whys.

We were dropped at Apollo visitor center to end the tour. Because time was short, we quickly hopped a shuttle bus back to Atlantis. Back at Atlantis, we went through the gift shop and back into the facility to try and finish. We did the space shuttle experience and felt the G's of having our faces pinned back. Awesome. Then, we explored the kitchen, bedroom and living area of the shuttle. There just wasn't enough time.

Notes to the visitor:
* Arrive when it opens. Don't wait. In fact be early.
* If you can spend two days, you really need it.
* Book a tour, as the guide will give you so much more than just going it alone.
* Pack a lunch, the food on site is expensive, especially if traveling with children.
* Beware the gift shop...there are many fabulous things that want to come home with you.

The main reason that we chose this day to visit was because there was a rocket launch scheduled for 8:40 p.m. So after closing the park down 1 hour and 10 minutes after it officially closed...again...I am surprised they let me back in with engineer (s) in tow...(I had three today but two were very time efficient on the closing time, while one was time efficient on the opening time), we wandered into Titusville for dinner.

 Dinner was at Portofino Italian Grill. This place should be remembered for amazing food, but even better service. We had a large group (16) and they were able to seat us, feed us, bill us in time for the launch at 8:40. They did it in under 90 minutes. We walked out the door and through the park to the boardwalk where we were in time to watch the launch. Which didn't happen on time. So the kids ran amok in the park and we waited. And then it happened. 90 seconds of fire, lift off and then the sound waves and the rocket curved into the night sky and disappeared. AWESOME.

I got to see a rocket launch.

Fantastic.

Cape Canaveral on Dwellable