Next stop on the Florida coast was the Canaveral National Seashore. To get there, you drive through neighborhoods and houses, along a main street and when the sand starts blowing onto the road, you know you’re close!

Near the visitor’s center is a lovely boardwalk where you can see parts of the shore, and then you can go off and explore the actual beaches on your own.

A short drive further south and you can go to the Manatee Observation deck, a quiet platform where you can see manatees swim by at their leisurely pace. Kayakers and boats also pass by, being mindful of each other and the manatees.

Then it was off to a place I’ve always wanted to see: Kennedy Space Center! There was no long wait to park and enter.

Okay, first the pros: There’s a HUGE replica of the space shuttle’s booster rocket that’s visible from far away that leads to the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit, a Saturn V rocket, and the largest NASA store ever is here.

The very BEST thing at Space Center though is the presentation before you enter the Atlantis exhibit and see the actual Space Shuttle. I was tearing up when the door opens and Atlantis is right in front of you, a real shuttle that I saw as a child on TV, and you can see how amazing it really is.

To get to the Saturn V, you take a luxury bus and drive by the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB as they call it-which has the largest set of doors in the world), and the rocket is near the launch viewing area (another dream of mine to see a launch there one day).

Also there is a replica of the control center of the Apollo 8 mission, where you hear actual radio traffic of the events that day:

The cons: The Saturn V I felt did not receive the respect it deserves by it not being in its own separate building; where it was housed had a gift shop and a small cafeteria. So you can sit at a table and the rocket is above you nearby. At Johnson Space Center, the Saturn V there is in its own warehouse, alone, with a wonderful exhibit along the wall of the moon missions.

Outside of the launch viewing area is a Moon Tree garden, where the trees are planted from descendants of seeds that were taken to the moon, and pays tribute to Apollo 11 astronauts with a large statue right in the middle.

Back to the main complex after the bus ride, there was the NASA store to visit and an opportunity to get some treats like frozen ice cream. But another con I felt about this place was that it was kinda theme park-y, and I can say that Johnson Space Center had a better feel to the concept and education of space exploration.

My last stop on the way out was the Rocket Garden, where there are Saturn, Delta, Mercury, Gemini, and Juno rockets, the Delta being the most modern and recent addition. All the rockets are real and show the history and progression of rockets being used for space exploration throughout the decades. It looks the most beautiful at sunset, I think.

One last pic: A NASA Christmas ornament for the season!