And Reaching for the Skies!

Our last full day in Florida was TaGeez's choice, and we headed off to Kennedy Space Center. The original adventure game - space exploration! We arrived bright and early...

 

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
Check out the matching shirts!

... and spent the entire day exploring the entire complex!

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

WOW! So big! And this was from a distance! Luckily being so early in the new school year but right after the holiday meant few visitors and school groups. 

Entrance and Rocket Garden

Rocket Garden

Our entry tickets pretty much covered every exhibit - we didn't miss a thing. We even explored Heroes and Legends twice.

Heroes and Legends Exhibit

Heroes and Legends

Really cool is the shuttle bus to the Apollo/Saturn 5 Complex. Sitting in air-conditioned luxury and watching a cool video, we passed both the Vehicle Assembly Building and the crawler-transporter. We also passed wildlife, giant turtles, and the famed Eagles nest.

This picture doesn't do the scale of the VAB justice. Fun facts from the NASA website: 

• The Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, is the only facility where assembly of a rocket occurred that carried humans beyond low-Earth orbit and on to the Moon. For 30 years, it also served as the final assembly point for space shuttles to external fuel tanks and solid rocket boosters.
• One of the largest buildings in the world by area, the VAB covers eight acres, is 525 feet tall and 518 feet wide.
• The VAB high bay doors are the largest in the world at 456 feet high and take about 45 minutes to completely open or close.
• The building is home to the largest American flag, a 209-foot-tall, 110-foot-wide star spangled banner painted on the side of the VAB.

Vehicle Assembly Building

And just as cool were the two crawler-transporters parked next door. More than 50 years old, "The crawler-transporters carry vehicles on the mobile launcher platforms used by NASA, and after each launch return to the pad to take the platform back to the VAB."

Another fun fact: "The crawler is the size of a baseball infield. The crawler's top speed is one mile per hour loaded and two miles per hour unloaded."

crawler-transporter

The Apollo/Saturn 5 was worth spending half a day!

Apollo/Saturn 5 Center

Apollo/Saturn 5 Complex - Moon Tree Garden

Most exhibits start with a video. This simulation for launch was real-time. Seeing all the systems activate at their proper time - how did they do this back then? 

Apollo 8 and the Firing Room

Saturn 5 Rocket

Fisher Space Pen Exhibit

Apollo Treasures Gallery

Back on the bus to the Shuttle Atlantis exhibit. Again, it started with a video and, at the end, when the video ended, the screen went semi-transparent and this beauty became visible through the fabric. It was magical!

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Solid Rocket Boosters for the Shuttles

Lovely day coming to an end. Between the walking and the heat, time for another quick stop at the Heroes & Legends exhibit (and, of course, the gift shop) as we exited the park.

Heroes and Legends Exhibit

It was an amazing day! We were a little surprised that KSC did not have a virtual or an adventure lab, but we found those in nearby Port Canaveral and a webcam to boot!

Pt. Canaveral Webcam Cache GCJT79

Let's wrap our last day in Florida with a coastal drive south to Cocoa Beach and Mexican for dinner. 

Cocoa Beach

Dipping Our Toes in Warm Water

Two webcams and a dip in the Gulf of Mexico? Yes, please!

Family commitments done, TaGeez and I found ourselves with a free afternoon so we hopped into the car and headed to Gulfport - a new first! I've never been to the Gulf of Mexico! Our first stop was one of four webcams on this trip - sweet!

Gulfport Marina Webcam Cache GCKRPM

Next we cruised up the Gulf Coast to take in the tourist sites including the "chicken church" on Madiera Beach. Yes, my kind of Virtual!

Chicken Church GC7B7DF

We saw that chicken church was next to Caddy's, a local institution and favorite hang-out of a favorite friend, employee parking lot. So, TaGeez, crab cakes while overlooking the water? 

Front row parking spot, immediate seating on the balcony overlooking the water, and not a care in the world. Truly, the first peaceful, carefree afternoon in many months. No wonder SJ loves it here!

We do that "old people thing" - sitting on the same side of the table

View from our balcony seat

To cache or not to cache? This afternoon the choice was easy - walking along the sand in the direct sunlight, picking up seashells and videoing birds on the beach. We've missed so much of the year and the water lapping on our tired legs made us feel human again.

After living and loving the Great Lakes, wading in the ocean waters outside Maine, Massachusetts and North Carolina, the Gulf waters were SO calm and SO warm. Have you been? 

We hit the souvenir shops to find SJ a postcard from Caddy's, but they didn't have any. So, SJ, here you go!

Quick stop at John's Pass for ice cream, souvenir coasters and a quick laugh, and then we had to turn east. We will be spending tonight in Orlando before heading to Kennedy Space Center tomorrow.

scary bug a rest stop

Final stop is Orlando's webcam - luckily we grabbed it before it was too dark. 

Park Avenue Webcam GCBFE3

Then into Orlando heading to our hotel, we could see the neon lights of amusement parks nearby. It was fun seeing the traces of "the mouse" alongside the highway - such as mouse ear-shaped poles supporting the power lines.

Hard to believe we only have one full day left in Florida. More tomorrow!

Sailing Along in Silver Springs

Although The Villages and Ocala, Florida, were not exactly my cup of tea, we did like some of the natives! I've seen cranes, herons and egrets in Michigan, but they have never walked up to me in a hotel parking lot before. No matter how many times we see these beautiful big birds in Florida we would still get excited.

Hunting brown anoles

After the (birthday) party was over, a few quilt shops visited, a few Virtuals claimed, we headed off to the next recommendation of ShelleyJean, Silver Spring State Park! 

Initially we resisted it because our time was so limited & we really wanted to dip our feet in the Gulf Coast. But SJ was relentless which is a key indicator that this was a must-visit stop. PLUS, we discovered there was only 1 cache onsite - a D/T 3/5 Virtual (Virtual!) needed for our Fizzy Grid! 

Checking our apps for travel times and creating our list of priority stops for the day, we figured if we started really early, we could make it with time to enjoy ourselves. We were the first ones in!

passing the shops

So, what's the draw? 

The beautiful blue and green water that you can explore via boardwalks, canoes, and glass-bottomed boats!

NO FILTERS!

Regretfully, the entire day in Silver Springs was overcast so most of our pictures did not do the water justice. As much as I love my home state, this park gave Kitch-Iti-Kippi (Palms Book State Park) a run for its money (or more!).

And there was wildlife, too! The Merlin App identified this as an Anhinga? Can anyone verify that? There were giant turtles and fish, too. Rumor has it the boardwalk to the right of the entrance is home to many, many monkeys (we didn't see or hear them). 

And, then, of course, there's the gators. We were working on an Adventure Lab (fail!), and TaGeez & I took different paths. Mine was in some high palms, thick underbrush and slightly under water. I was thinking, "No, are there gators this far North? Can't be." It was eerie. This was the sign I found at the end of the path!

This sign was just outside a pavilion that feature the TV show, Sea Hunt. A local told us he spied a 6-foot baby gator there a few weeks ago.

"In the 1930s, Hollywood discovered Silver Springs and over the years, scenes from at least 20 movies were filmed here, including Rebel Without a Cause starring James Dean, Distant Drums starring Gary Cooper, the James Bond movie Moonraker, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and six Tarzan flicks. 

Episodes of television shows such as Sea Hunt, were filmed at Silver Springs as well. In fact, legend has it that Sea Hunt star Lloyd Bridges learned to SCUBA dive at Silver Springs!"

[source] 

FINALLY! Time to board one of the famous glass-bottomed boats! Visitors had been visiting since the 1870's, and these boats have been an attraction here since the 1920's. I am not a fan of boats, but I'd love to go back one day!

"THEY might look like ancient relics but these underwater statues are actually leftover props from the 1960s TV series I Spy. The props were abandoned after filming in a lake at the Silver Springs State Park in Florida."

[source] 

Moving too fast for a good photo of the statues

WE DID IT!

We had an amazing time - Florida is beautiful! And with our boat coming within 16 feet of the posted coordinates, we can claim our D/T 3/5 Virtual and ticked another box in our Fizzy!

30 Pieces of Silver Virtual GC7B6G0

Now, time for lunch. How does dining on the Gulf of Mexico sound? Off to Gulfport!

An Oldie in Florida

The second full day in Florida found us leaving Saint Augustine to head to the family party in Ocala (via Daytona and New Smyrna). It was a lovely drive along Florida's A1A. Lovely to see the beaches and families fishing off the bridges. I'm still fixated on the palm trees and (according to my Seek app) the brown anole's entertaining me everywhere. 

We had a few hours until the convergence so we detoured for Virtuals, and the first one blew me away! Imagine driving down an avenue of moss-dripping boughs shadowing the road and turning into a park to see this amazing entity! Breathtaking. Awe-inspiring. Humbling.

Timeline Tree Virtual GCC9CA

From the cache page

"My name is Quercus Virginiana, but people around here refer to me as The Fairchild Oak. 

I am one of the biggest trees in Florida. I have been standing here for over 2000 years. 

Sound like a long time? 

Think of it this way, I was close to 30 years old when a man named Jesus was spreading his teaching. 

I was over 1000 years old when the Timucuan Indians gathered their shellfish, in the tidewater creeks around me I was old, when the soldiers of the Civil War camped near me 

I have survived Hurricanes, fires, and the folly of man. 

I have sheltered & help feed animals for seasons uncountable."

🙒

Speaking of animals - look who made an appearance!

He moseyed all over the protruding roots and then directly at me!

Our first live armadillo!

After that I think the other Virtuals paled. We drove to the Daytona 500, found ourselves at the foundation, paid our respects to the pup-pup, sailed into surfside for the Surfer Memorial. 

Daytona-New Smyrna Virtuals
No spoilers here.

Daytona was packed, commercial and pastel gaudy - what a great place to people watch! We saw an amazing flash storm off the ocean as we crossed over from the beach onto the mainland, heading West. But even storming, we had to get one more cache in the art district...

Pottery of Gold Reborn GC2PXCX

We were just a little late to Ocala, but the birthday boy didn't seem to mind! Happy Birthday, Pops!

90-years young

I don't have pictures here, but there were giant Pileated Woodpeckers bopping branch to branch and playing tag tree-to-tree as the sun set on our second day.