My wife and I have been thinking about getting away to a warm place during winter but have not had a chance to do it over the past few years. A couple of weeks ago we finally did it. For the past couple weeks we have been in Florida. We drove instead of flying because our trip was open ended as we had no definite plans or date we needed to return. We spend two days driving down to Florida and found a condo in Cocoa beach to stay at for a few days.
I got some good sunrise pictures from our condo.
It was on the beach not far from Cape Kennedy which meant we got a chance to see a launch. There were two launches scheduled while we were in Cocoa beach. The first one was to send four astronauts to the international space station. I actually drove 10 miles to view the launch from a place I could see the launchpad.
The launch was scheduled for 2am so I had to stay up late to see it. Unfortunately 2 mins before the launch there was a problem with the ignition system so the launch was scrubbed. Fortunately the next day there was a satellite launch that went off without a problem. We were able to see it from the beach where we were staying. Although we couldn't see the actual launch pad we saw the flash when it launched and followed as it went over head.
In order to really get a good picture of a rocket in flight going over 1000 mph you need a large telephoto lens and a radar guided camera. However with a little luck I go a reasonable picture with my camera.
Besides seeing the rocket streak through the air I also felt and heard it as it went by and rattled the building.
With my binoculars I was actually able to see the first stage separation and ignition of the second stage. I'm glad I got a chance to see an launch in person it was as cool as expected.
After 3 days of Cocoa beach we headed south. Since it is spring training time for baseball we were able to take in a Met's game before heading to Hollywood Florida just north of Miami. Our original plan was to go down to the Keys but we could not find a good place to stay and some of the stuff we wanted to do was north of Miami any way. We spent 3 days in a penthouse condo on the beach.
Which had amazing views of the sunset.
Besides hanging out on the beach we also checked out some gardens and safari parks. I really enjoyed the flamingos. The way the strut around, honk and play with each other are cool and makes for some good pictures.
We also fed some lorikets which climbed all over us.
From Hollywood Florida we started on our way home stopping at Hilton Head on the way back. Amazingly we had only 15 mins of rain on the entire two week trip and that while we were in the car on our way back. It was nice to feel the warm humid air in the middle of the winter. It actually hit close to 90 a couple of days so it was almost too hot.
I was able to work part of the time we were away so I won't have to burn a lot of vacation days which worked out as my wife was fine hanging out on the beach while I worked. This vacation was a good get away and something we might do again if we want to get away from the cold in the winter months.
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