Blogger: Stephanie Lynch
Today started with an early morning swim before a big adventure to Cape Canaveral. We hit the road and passed Disney World(We are going to visit Disney in the next few days so be sure to keep tuned to our blogs to hear all about it) as we headed towards Cape Canaveral to explore the Kennedy Space Center where NASA is based. On route we passed the port where all the cruise ships come in and go out. The Disney cruise ship was in and it looked fabulous. A local told us all about the cruises you can go on, included 3-4 day local cruises(even to the Bahamas!). Another thing added to our bucket list for our next big adventure!! (Watch this space!!).
QT Tip: You don’t go into Cape Canaveral to get to the Kennedy Space Center, it is based a few miles outside it but is well sign posted.
We continued on to the Kennedy Space Center, even the drive was amazing. Very remote area but the scenery was breath taking. We arrived at the Kennedy Space Center which was very impressive.
Kennedy Space Center is full of things to do and places to see. We went on the bus tour first which takes about 2 hours at least. The last bus leaves at 4:30 so it’s a good idea to do the bus tour first and then come back and explore the rest of Kennedy Space Center then. The bus tour takes you on a tour of the NASA grounds, including the launch pads and a guided tour of Apollo/Saturn V Center.
We then launched into space aboard the Shuttle Launch Experience with space shuttle astronaut Jon McBride. We loved the shuttle simulator experience which was a highlight of the day. Sit back, buckle up and hold on tight.. you get to experience what it’s like for a NASA astronauts on a space shuttle launch. The sights, sounds and sensations are so real.
A key thing to explore when you get back to the main center is the Space Shuttle Atlantis as it is very impressive. You can even stand nose-to-nose with it. A great celebration to the people and accomplishments of America’s incredible 30-year shuttle program.
QT Tips: $10 to park and it costs $50 for an adult(senior citizen of 55+ gets a small discount).
We ended our day with a visit to Cocoa beach. A storm was about to come in but there was still a few people fishing on the beach before the rain started. Thunderstorms are very common here as it gets very hot throughout the day. I have grown to love them as it means it’s always cooler afterwards!! We ended up visiting iHop for a quick sandwich before we hit the road back to Tampa. They were very nice there and we got lots of local tips from the manager Torsten. I also loved how helpful they were to me(I am allergic to onion which can make it very hard to find food in restaurants). We enjoyed our meal and headed on the road just as the storm hit. It took a little longer to get home but the storm eased off after an hour into the drive. We were very tired after a great day of adventure and headed to bed straight away when we got back. A great day and a great adventure.
Over and Out from Florida for now…
Steph
