January 21, 2012

1.21.12

This is the sun setting on our anchorage in Cocoa.

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Our sunrise as we headed out.

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Jim spotted dolphins in front of our boat…so I grabbed the camera and went on deck. I stood on the bow sprit and waited for them to come to the boat….and they did!!

I counted 3 at one time under the bow. They seemed to be having fun and I loved watching them…hated to see them go. They have most likely been playing there in the past and we just never knew it.

A few more hours and we were crossing under the NASA Causeway. We could see the tail of the Shuttle and there was deep water on the N side of the bridge so we cruised over and anchored….dropped our dingys and headed towards shore, to see if we could walk up to it.

Well….it can be walked up to….but you have to cross this stuff….kinda made me think of a cow manure pile. Jim opted to guard the dingys. Sometimes he’s smarter than I think he is.

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After you cross the brown stuff..sometimes sinking over your ankles and coming up without a shoe…you get to walk thru the grass…I think Larry is trying to stomp some of the muck off his shoe.

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You have to cross the highway…then it’s another 1/2 mile or so to the road going in….

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Once I got in front of the shuttle I decided to head back and wait with Jim. I read the sign saying they had a G Force training simulator and decided I’d wait until we could come down and do the whole thing.

Jim was hiking the shoreline when I got back.

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We hauled our dingy out into deeper water and floated around while waiting for them to return.

One other important item….they don’t open until 1200. It is only 10am so it wasn’t long before they were hiking the muck pile again.

“Is that my shoe in there?”

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When we first got here the water felt cold when we got out of the dingy…but it sure felt good after the muck pile walk, and our feet felt and smelled much better.

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You can see how shallow it is here. You have to drag the dingy out into deeper water then get in.

It was actually a fun day…sometimes it’s the little odd things that make you laugh your way thru it….but no one wanted to wait and make the trip again at noon.

We upped anchors and headed to the Titusville Marina for fuel. It’s still early but we’ll anchor for the day. The next anchorage is too far to make before  dark.

It’s clouding over and cooling off a bit. We’ve had our supper and are in for the night. Once the boats are off the water and the wakes subside, the water will settle down. Right now it’s a bit bouncy and loud. The waves slam between the two boats. We are rafted up and that 2’ space between them traps the waves.

What a great day on the water. The dolphins were a wonderful treat. I'll be up there looking for them every time I see one in the area.

If you are adventurous..you can make the trip to the Astronauts Hall of Fame. There is plenty of depth to anchor in and the trip over the brown stuff really wasn’t that bad and the walk isn’t very far. 

You could go ashore sooner but there is very little shoulder on the highway.

Just be sure to  wait until noon.