The Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, FL (AKA Cape Canaveral) — Part 1

Monday, May 4, 2026 — In the early morning, Eric took a ride share to a rental car facility and rented a car. Then he went to Kosmos, picked up Christi and Keith, and we all set out for the Kennedy Space Center. It was located in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and was a 20-minute drive. We headed west on a bridge that took us over the Banana River, then north to the Space Center.

We’d been once before, four years ago. Like Colonial Williamsburg, it was only open from 9 – 5 and there was more to see/do than could physically be done in one day; it was recommended to get a 2-day pass to see/do everything. Last time, we’d only had four hours, so we didn’t get to see much. Eric and Christi wanted to see the rest of it. Keith didn’t remembered much, so it was almost like his first visit.

As we drove in, we were astounded by the size of the Blue Origin complex. We remembered being astounded last time, too. This is just a tiny bit of the complex.

The Kennedy Space Center parking lot entrance was just beyond the Blue Origin complex. We arrived at 0920. Parking was $15. The line to buy tickets was short. Tickets were $77 for 12+ for one day and $91 for 2 days. With sales tax, the grand total for three 1-day passes was $217.17. This was the entrance. You can see part of the Rocket Garden in the distance.

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Exploring Port Canaveral, Florida, USA

Sunday, May 3 — This morning, Eric scoped out the Yacht Club’s amenities, which were very nice.

However, it was a fairly long walk from club house to the end of the dock, where Kosmos was berthed. No, that wasn’t a building in the distance, it was a cruise ship.

On his way back, he met the owners of a Nordhavn 57 that was on our dock. He went aboard their boat and talked to them for several hours. Christi joined them for an hour.

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Passage from North Palm Beach, Floria to Port Canaveral, Florida, USA

Friday, May 1, 2026 continued… They took the straps off, then we backed out of the slip and headed south down the ICW. Thankfully we only had to wait 7-minutes for the first bridge to open.

As we feared, the ICW was busy on a Friday afternoon. Lots of speed boats zoomed by and several tiny boats came terrifyingly close to us, but now we’re jaded and don’t freak out when the boats get close like we used to. We were pleased to report that the ride to the Lake Worth inlet was uneventful.

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Seeing Tiki Tour in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA

Wednesday, April 13 — Johnny and Joanne had recommended a breakfast/brunch restaurant in the same shopping center as Jeremiah’s called Berry Fresh Cafe. They had some unique menu items, both in terms of foods and beverages, that piqued our interest. The portions were huge and the food was fantastic. Keith ordered the Chorizo Crunch Wrap, which was a grilled tortilla stuffed with scrambled eggs, bacon, chorizo sausage, bacon, regular sausage, ham, cheddar and chipotle cream sauce. It was served with salsa on the side. Eric ordered the Nashville Chicken Biscuit, which had pimiento cheese, pickle slices, chicken tenders, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce served on a biscuit.

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Hauling Out at Seminole Boat Yard, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

The sunrise on Sunday, April 12, 2026 was mostly blocked, but a sliver of sun managed to peep out from behind the clouds.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday were quiet days. We spent all three days doing chores around the boat in preparation for the haul out. We did lots of odds and ends, such as cooking up everything in the refrigerator that wouldn’t last for a couple of weeks and removing the storm plates from the windows. Last week, Eric had turned off the generator through-hull and opened up the generator so that the raw water pump could be changed. He got confirmation that it would be changed in the yard, so he put the generator back together and turned the through hull back to open on the off chance that it may need to be run. Someone came to pump out the blackwater tank. Eric and Keith also cleaned up rust stains that we’d noticed around the boat.

On Monday afternoon, we checked into a motel near the marina. It certainly wasn’t fancy, but it was the best deal in the area in terms of value for the money. Last year, this motel had been booked and Eric had been forced to stay farther away. He was happy about being closer this year.

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