Florida’s East Coast – 2 Chicks, 50 States

As we headed south from St Augustine, our first stop along the east coast of Florida was Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral. Staying in our Airbnb in Cocoa Beach just 20 minutes away, we set off for KSC, arriving a little after 10am and leaving at 6.30pm. There is so much to see and do here! Between the behind the scenes bus tour, space shuttle launch simulation, rocket garden, IMAX screenings and plenty of space history to explore, we simply ran out of time.

The Rocket Garden features rockets on display including Juno I, Delta, Gemini-TItan II and Mercury-Atlas

Gemini 9A was the seventh crewed Earth-orbiting spacecraft of the Gemini series

Space shuttle Atlantis: the last shuttle to fly into space, flying 33 missions including secret missions for the U.S. military, ferrying astronauts to and from space stations and launching several probes

Launch Pad 39A which has seen launches including Apollo 11 and space shuttle Atlantis

The Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, is the largest single-story building in the world and was constructed for the assembly of the Apollo/Saturn V moon rocket. Today it continues to be the NASA hub where rockets and spacecraft are prepared for their missions. The VAB doors are the largest in the world and take about 45 minutes to completely open or close.

The United States Astronaut *Hall of Fame*, featuring a statue of Alan Shepard, the first American to travel into space in 1961

Our Cocoa Beach Airbnb was a ninety second walk to the beach where we watched the sunrise before driving to West Palm.

In West Palm we had a reunion with our friends Rosalie and Mary, both ex-Doha survivors and finally met Rosalie’s parents. What an amazing lunch! We were treated to an authentic Italian meal and we had a great afternoon filled with laughter, reminiscing and fine dining. Thank you so much for the wonderful catch up and it was so nice to meet you Nick and Nicolina 😊

Manicotti, meatballs and eggplant parmigiana with arugula and blueberry salad

Stealing Mary away with us, we headed from West Palm to Miami Beach via Hollywood where we caught a glimpse of the guitar-shaped Seminole Hard Rock Hotel. At 450ft/137m, it strikingly towers above the horizon.

And then to Miami Beach we arrived and it was everything we imagined it was going to be. Blue skies, warm breezes, palm trees, crystal clear ocean and cocktails lining the streets – just like in the movies! 😂 We had lunch at a Cuban restaurant before heading to our next Florida destination: the Keys.

Daiquiris, sangria and mojitos to accompany lunch

From the frivolity of cocktails in the sun to something that is breaking our hearts as we watch the news unfold and think of our friends and family at home. The Australian wildfires are at the forefront of our thoughts all the time and the messages and thoughts that we have received from friends, and even strangers when they hear where we are from, has been overwhelming. We are thinking of everyone, including all the brave exhausted firefighters putting their lives at risk every day, as we pray for a miracle to end the devastation that is sweeping across the country.

If anyone would like to make a donation towards the bushfires cause, there are many charities and funds that have been set up and they can be found on line but here are a few:

New South Wales: https://quickweb.westpac.com.au/OnlinePaymentServlet?cd_community=NSWRFS&cd_currency=AUD&cd_supplier_business=DONATIONS&action=EnterDetails

South Australia: https://cfsfoundation.org.au/donate

Queensland: https://www.rfbaq.org/donate-to-rfbaq

Victoria: https://www.vic.gov.au/bushfireappeal

Wishing everyone to be safe,

S&P