Wed Feb 12th - Kennedy Space Center - Then and Now

You know that “thing” when people recreate a family photo from many years ago with everyone in the same pose? Is there a term for it? 

Anyway, we were at Kennedy Space Center today. Last time we were there was 38 years ago.

These before photos were taken in 1982, when Bob and I were at the Kennedy Space Center for the 3rd shuttle launch. Back in the day, Bob's job was arranging for GTE communications satellites to be launched, and NASA was kind enough to give us 2 VIP tickets to the launch. 

This was the launch, of the Columbia 

BTW - Here are the before and after photos from today: 

For the record, we weren't the last to leave, and we left before they kicked us out

Getting Together With Friends, and Friends Who are Also Relatives

The whole time we were on Florida's Gulf Coast, not a familiar face to be found. 

But once we got to the East Coast !!! 

Steve in Miami

Betty and Mike in Boynton Beach

 
Evelyn and Jeff in Boca Raton

Peter in Fort Lauderdale 

Aliyana and Gene in Orlando

Ellen and Matt in Orlando 

After 2½ months in Florida, Are the Stops Starting to Look the Same??

We have been to over 30 state parks, the Everglades, city park preserves, national forests, wildlife refuges, beaches, barrier islands, hammocks, wetlands, sloughs, swamps, rails to trails bike paths, kayak/canoe trails, botanic gardens, the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail, etc.  

There certainly is overlap in what we see. Palms, saw palmettos, different pines, mangroves, lots of birds, ocean, springs, wetlands, swamps, beaches. 

But every single day, we manage to see something new.

For example, this past Sunday, Feb 2^nd, we went to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands Park (of the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department’s Southern Region Water Reclamation Facility*) in Delray Beach. After all the great stuff we have seen so far in so many places, these are the things we saw for the first time on this trip at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands. (Thanks Mike and Betty! This place was a great recommendation!)

1. First baby birds - Cormorant chicks in one nest, baby Great Blue Herons in another

2. Flocks of wood storks very close by (had seen from a distance before)

3. First birds building nests - Wood storks gathering twigs and branches for nests

4. First snake - a large water snake (I had really wanted to see a python in the Everglades, but no such luck)

5. First raccoon not in a garbage can

6. First iguanas! Lots of them!

7. First time ever seeing an American Bittern

(Bird identification tip: Just go over to anyone with a huge camera lens and ask) 

So no, it never gets old. 

* This place was much better than the excellent Japanese Garden and Sewage Treatment Plant  at the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Los Angeles.

3 MONTHS !!!

It seemed like we had so much time when we set out on November 1^st with the intention of coming home by Purim. 

The first two months we proceeded leisurely. 

About a month ago we realized that if we wanted to do much of what we planned, we needed to pick up the pace. So much so, that we have had very little spare time these past few weeks.

You may have noticed I haven’t been blogging. Haven’t had time.

I try to write down what we do every day so I don’t forget what we did and when, and I haven’t even been able to keep up with that.  I will try to put together a record later based on the time stamp of our photos, and receipts.

We are going to slow down from now on. It sounds ridiculous that we don’t have enough time with a month left to go, but we don’t. So instead of continuing to cram as much in as possible as in pre-retirement vacation days, we are going to take it easy from here on. There were things we wanted to do on our way back north that will just have to wait for some TBD future trip.

We are still in Florida. (Currently just south of Lake Okeechobee.)  Have been in Florida for over 2 months!   

This has been our route in Florida, more or less. We are working out way back north.

So in honor of Florida, I have put together the following top ten list: 

Top 10 Ways to Know That You are in Florida

1. Ridiculously long wait for traffic lights to turn green.  I can go to the bathroom, Bob can go to the bathroom, I can make lunch then change into biking clothes, all at one red light  

2. There seems to be the highest number of personal injury lawyers per square mile anywhere, based on all the billboard advertising 

This is a particularly entertaining one:

3. High rise condos going up everywhere 

4. Ubiquitous pink flamingo objects 

5. Lots of mosquitoes 

6. Weather is unbearably hot and humid and the locals tell you it doesn’t get hot for another 2 or 3 months

7. Tourists get super excited by alligators

8. Place names are either unpronounceable Seminole names (Apalachee, Chassahowitzka, Fakahatchee, Homosassa, Myakka, Osceola, Tallahassee, Wakulla, Wakodahatchee, Weeki Wachee (been to them all)) or contain at least one of the following words: Beach, Island, Palm, Ocean, Harbor, Bay, Key, Spring, Lake, Saint, or Fort.  

9. Lots of mosquitoes 

10. Everyone you meet was originally from NJ 

More Flamingos ...