continued… From there, we went out to the platform. We climbed the stairs to the top floor. The top floor was enclosed. There was an exterior walkway around three sides with nice views. This was looking northwest.

Looking southeast, towards Cape Canaveral (the strip of land along the Atlantic shore where the launches were done).

There was a SpaceX facility just to the west of the above photo. Here was a zoom in of it.

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.