Day 195 – 199
Last night, at dinner, Ray Parrish reminded us there was an early-morning scheduled launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, at 4:30 am, on Wednesday, 03/24/21. Since the launch would take place right next door at Cape Canaveral, FL, it only made sense that we wake up in time to watch the launch, since we’d practically have a front-row seat out on Legacy’s bow. Steve set his alarm for 4:15 am, so we’d have time to wake-up and splash our faces before creeping outside into the predawn darkness. We spread out one of our large beach towels on the deck of the boat to sit on, and patiently waited while we listened to the launch countdown on Steve’s phone. The weather was just right – not too chilly and not too humid, with just a whisper of a breeze against our skin. Steve had gotten dressed, but I was still in my pjs – who was going to see me at this hour of the morning? As mission control droned on about launch specifics, sprinkled with interesting space travel factoids, the countdown finally began in earnest. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but was very amazed when just as we heard the count get to “ONE, ZERO, IGNITION!” on Steve’s phone, we saw a brilliant explosion on the horizon just to our north. The glow lit up most of the sky for a few seconds, and we could hear a deep and low rumbling moving toward us from the launch pad. The rocket shot straight up into the sky, still glowing brightly, like a gigantic, moving Christmas Star going up, up, and up. I was mesmerized, standing up on the bow with a lump in my throat. I have always been interested in the space program, but it’s been off the media’s radar for so long now, I’d forgotten how thrilling it can be. Steve has had a healthier interest in space travel, and has kept up with our progress much more closely. We sat for at least a minute (maybe two) watching the glowing ball move higher and higher into the atmosphere, until it got so high it was no longer visible to the human eye. Everything else around us was dark, still and peaceful. The whole scene was surreal. Falcon 9 carried some sixty new satellites up into the sky for future commercial uses that morning, alone. Steve had told me he’d heard that when the satellites are released, it’s quite a sight, with tiny white lights bursting forth in multiple directions from the launching rocket, and can look like an invasion of UFO’s if the units are released at night, and you happen to be standing at just the right time and place when the release takes place. I got confused and thought he meant the rocket would launch, blast high up into the sky, and then suddenly burst like a firework when the satellites were released. I misunderstood and was disappointed when the rocket completely disappeared from view and that was the end of our show. What I didn’t understand at the time is that the satellites would not be released until the rocket was much higher above the earth, in a particular orbital position, and at a prescheduled release time, that would happen much later, and most likely on the other side of the planet. Well, BOO! Once the show was over, we came back inside, went back to bed, and tried to get some more sleep. I think Steve was successful, but I was too keyed-up to sleep anymore.
Later that morning, we walked across the street from our marina and into Cocoa Village for brunch at Ossorio. When we arrived, we saw they were not providing dine-in service; we had to order at a window with several layers of plastic and netting hanging down between the restaurant employees and its clientele. There was also a rigid plastic panel in place that prevented the waitress from being able to hear the guest, and vice-versa. Ugh! Lots of Covid paranoia in this little village. We had been told that Ossorio has the best breakfasts, but ours didn’t seem any tastier than previous brunches we’d eaten. We sat outside at little bistro tables to eat our meals, and people-watch. Most people were sitting or walking around wearing various stages of Covid protection, which starkly contrasted with the two older gentlemen at the table right beside us that were both smoking like freight-trains, wearing no masks, and hacking and coughing hard and loudly enough to entertain all of us guests. Lovely. We finally tired of breathing second-hand smoke, so we disposed of our trash and headed in separate directions. Steve to tour the historical Travis Hardware Store, which is famous for its status as the oldest and largest hardware stores in Florida. S. F. Travis started his hardware business in 1885, carrying most of his wares up and down the eastern Florida coast aboard a boat. In 1892, he purchased 35,000 square feet of warehouse space in Cocoa, FL, and eventually turned that warehouse into a gigantic hardware store, which is reputed to carry absolutely any hardware item anyone could need at any given time. The Travis family has served the Cocoa, FL, area with old-fashioned customer service for more than 136 years, and are considered founding fathers of their community. While Steve was occupied with the hardware store, I walked around the pretty, waterside Cocoa Village Park, and stopped into several interesting boutique shops. Cocoa Village Marina is right there next to the town, so we could come and go as we pleased on foot, without need for a rental car or Uber rides.
One afternoon, Steve walked over to Pub Americana for a beer while I stayed aboard Legacy, updating this blog. After about an hour, I received a text from Steve containing a picture of an Ibis that had tried to pick him up in the pub’s outdoor dining area! He even posted a picture of the brazen hussy on his Facebook page. After checking him out for several minutes Miss Ibis decided to hop right up onto the table top, walk to the other end, and then relieve herself right then and there! Fortunately, Steve was just about finished with his beer, so he used that opportunity to depart.
One exciting morning, we got around early and met our Uber driver out in front of the marina to drive us over to Cape Canaveral for a day at the Kennedy Space Center. Our early-morning rocket launch had rekindled an interest in both of us to return to this place we had visited almost 30 years earlier, upon multiple recommendations that – with all the time, progress and updates – it was a completely different place now and should not be missed. While in route, our very friendly Uber driver pointed to some large, round metal rings mounted high atop various poles along the street, right there in town. He explained they were actually man-made osprey nest supports, to help encourage ospreys to nest in more populated areas, where trees are scarce. Reportedly, ospreys mate for life and return to the same nesting spot every year to breed. Aside from pelicans and seagulls, we have spotted quite a few osprey during our coastal travels. After about 40 minutes, we arrived at the Kennedy Space Center, where our Uber driver dropped us off in a special parking lot not far from the entrance gates.
Much to my delight, there was a good-sized crowd waiting for the gates to open this morning. We all waited in multiple lines to enter the center, while I walked around snapping pictures. While we all waited, a voice came over the loudspeaker, welcoming us to KSC and advising us of how happy they were to have us all there. I would estimate easily 1,000 to 1,500 people were standing in the rows of multiple gate-entry lines. The loud voice reminded us all that we were on Federally-owned property, and because of our newest president’s ruling, we were all mandated to wear face-coverings while anywhere on their grounds. After the mask and social-distancing speech, he proceeded to loudly recommend that we “all avoid gathering in large groups or mass-gatherings.” Wait… He was advising a large group of rather tightly-packed crowds waiting to patronize his place of business NOT to gather in large crowds…?? How did they expect us to await entry if not in a large group, since the entry area was barricaded on all four sides…? I swear, the longer this craziness continues, the more illogical it becomes. Virus frustrations aside, the weather was spectacular and could not have been more perfect for an extended day outside!
The comments we’d heard about the space center being much larger and more impressive were well-founded. The familiar Rocket Garden still stands near the entry-gates, but its grounds and exhibit have definitely been updated from our last visit. I wandered all over the place, taking picture after picture, while Steve checked the map to plan our day’s route. (He’s all about route-planning now – whether on or off the boat.) There were now all sorts of Mars exhibits that were new to us, and many more buildings had been constructed. There was even current, ongoing construction on a large building in the center of the park. We strolled around the grounds, visiting the Heroes & Legends exhibit and presentation, the Nature & Technology section, NASA Now and NASA Central, the Imax theater and then the Journey to Mars exhibit that was both intriguing and exciting. I noticed there were many, many families with children visiting today, which I kept exclaiming I thought was an excellent idea! What better way to get your kids interested in the space program early on?
One of the downsides that I found particularly disappointing were all the food stands and shops that were “CLOSED DUE TO COVID”. The Constellation Plaza was like a dead zone because of this. ☹ Fortunately, we were able to purchase lunch at the Orbit Café, but that was basically our only choice for food and drink.
I was impressed at the private, commercial space companies that have joined forces with NASA, such as SNC (Sierra Nevada Corporation), Moon Express, SpaceX, and Boeing. These private, commercial businesses are why the space industry is progressing by such leaps and bounds nowadays.
After lunch, we walked over to my favorite exhibit of the entire day – the Atlantis West Pavilion and exhibit. I had been told it was moving, but was downright overwhelmed when we got to see it. In case any readers have yet to experience it, I won’t describe the program or the way in which the exhibit is first revealed to the audience, for fear of spoiling it. All I can say is that it was an emotional moment for me and – for once – I was grateful I was wearing that stupid mask, because it helped to camouflage the tears streaming down my face. Judging from the crowd’s reaction, I’m pretty sure we were all equally awed by the presentation and everything before us. Seeing it all in person is so much better than viewing it on a screen. The excitement in our group was palpable. What an amazing experience that I am so glad we enjoyed!
The Space Mirror Memorial and the Forever Remembered exhibits (showcasing the Challenger and Columbia disasters) were also extremely moving to witness, and I spent most of my time in those areas with Kleenex at the ready. It was a long, full day, ending with a comical taxi driver that entertained us animatedly through out the whole journey back. (We took a taxi back, rather than another Uber, because neither Uber nor Lyft had any cars available for us.) Our taxi driver was – quite clearly – NOT a fan of Uber and Lyft, and talked them down every chance he got. In fact, he’s convinced they are both “going out of business”. (We tended to think that was more wishful thinking than actual fact, but we certainly understood the guy’s point of view.)
One day for lunch, we decided to heed all the recommendations and walk over to Cryderman’s Barbecue and enjoyed a wonderful meal. This place is family-owned, housed in a converted filling station, and is so popular we had to stand in line for more than 30 minutes just to place our order. We both got so hot and tired from standing there in the late March sunshine, we hated to imagine how torturous it must be during the hot summertime. Steve said he knew this place was going to be good when he heard that they only stay open for as long as they have freshly-cooked product available. In other words, they close when they’re sold-out each day. Cryderman’s has a large covered outdoor eating area with long, national park style picnic tables and benches that are large enough for multiple parties to share. The place was crowded, but we found a spot at one of the tables while waiting for our food to arrive. And we were not disappointed when it DID! Cryderman’s serves the best coleslaw either of us has ever eaten, and had an actual smokey flavor. I ordered a pulled-pork sandwich that was literally mouth-watering, and Steve’s brisket was cooked so perfectly, we deemed it every bit as good (if not better) than Steve’s famous ‘Texas Brisket’ he used to prepare and smoke every summer on his Big Green Egg! After reading Cryderman’s story, we understood why it was so delicious. It was basically the very same Texas rub recipe that Steve acquired while we lived in the Houston area. We literally stuffed ourselves and then waddled back to the marina.
Position: N 28° 21.470, W 80° 43.532
Total marina nights: 177
Total nights at anchor: 21