Good Times and Sights Along The Way

June 21, 2012

We anchored near Merritt Island on Tuesday night about fifteen miles from Kennedy Space Center.  A satellite was being launched Wednesday morning and we wanted to be there.  The government is pretty strict about where you can be during launches.  If your boat is in the security zone, you can be fined $250,000, put in jail for ten years and your boat confiscated.  (Jennifer would be really ticked if we got arrested and her six year old was put in jail.)  The launch actually went off almost an hour before scheduled.  I didn’t think that a launch ever went off on time and certainly not an hour early.

 

Ok -- It wasn't the best view, but we were there!
The rocket is the dot above the blue sky...

 

Building his own spaceship -- Lego X-Wing Fighter

That is not the bait -- That is the catch  of the day!

See the guy standing at the top of the mast?
One more reason we do not have a sail boat!

 

Take my word for it -- three manatees....
You will need to look them up on the internet to
see what they really look like.

Palm trees waiting to be planted.
They have only a few stringy roots.

Planted and braced they thrive.

Wouldn't you want to buy a house from us?

It looked like New Smyrna Beach
would be a good place to anchor Wednesday night.  About a half hour before we arrived, Brian said “doesn’t Dixie have a house in New Smyrna?”  Dixie and I were friends and sold real estate together in Minnesota for 26 years.  On a whim I called her.  All the time I was thinking “why would someone from Minnesota come to Florida in the middle of June?”  One good reason: her granddaughter is in a volleyball tournament in Orlando.  She's here with her son and his family for a week to be cheer leaders.  We also found that the city had just installed a dock downtown and it was free!  By the time we pulled in Dixie, her son, Jeff, and his two sons were waiting for us.  They took us to a great seafood restaurant for dinner.  Christopher got to eat at a table with the two 13 year old boys....  he thought he was quite the big boy laughing at all of their jokes.  What a treat to have an unexpected visit and hug from a dear friend.  Once again -- Wouldn't have happened if we had left Stuart the beginning of the month as previously planned.      

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!