Days 314 - 316

• Cocoa Village FL - Titusville Marina, Titusville FL
• Start 9:35 AM
• End 11:45 AM
• Underway 2:10
• Hours Distance 17 Miles
• Total Miles on Trip 4917
• Av Speed 7.8 knots
• Weather Sunny , 73 Degrees, Wind Knots 1 SE

Another beautiful day for a boat ride, it was warm, sunny and not windy at all. Seventeen miles is a very short day for us, and was planned this way for two reasons. The first is Dan & Cheri (Cheri Baby II) really want to go to Kennedy Space Center, they have not been there before, and the second is we were hoping to anchor out on our way to watch the SpaceX Rocket Launch.

About ½ way between Cocoa Village and Titusville is a canal leading to the Banana River and a perfect anchorage to watch the launches. Unfortunately once again the launch was postponed; this rocket launch has had more delays than our Great Loop trip has had. We do get to see the launch while were are in Titusville, but more about that later.

Originally our plans were to go to Kennedy Space Center on Friday, and we had a car reserved with Enterprise to get there. It turns out to be much cheaper to rent a car for a day, than to Uber there and back. Because the SpaceX launch was now scheduled for Friday, we had to change our plans and go to the space center on Thursday.

Even though we have been to Kennedy Space Center before, it was still amazing and well worth a second visit. One of the highlights of the day was being able to see the Artimus 1 Rocket. Artimus I will eventually be used to take humans back to the moon. Artimus 1 is currently on Launch Pad 39A undergoing "Wet Testing". During wet Testing they fill the rocket with fuel among other test. Once the testing is complete they will have a better idea when they will be able to launch the rocket. It was a very impressive sight.

The entire day was pretty spectacular from the Apollo Space Capsule to the Atlantis Shuttle. It is hard to believe that we were able to put a man on the moon with less technology than the cell phones we carry in our pockets. Looking at the Apollo 14 (Launched 1971) capsule to standing ten feet from the Atlantis Space Shuttle (1985-2011) that flew 33 missions to space shows you how fast our technology has changed. NASA's next goal is to put a man on Mars, my question is "Will it be possible in my lifetime?" My guess is yes, it is really possible.

After spending the day at the Kennedy Space Center, what could be better than watching SpaceX launch the AX-1 rocket. While it really would have been awesome to anchor out on the Banana River and watch the launch, timing and logistics just did not work out for us. Our next best option was to ride our bikes to a local park, aptly called Space View Park.

The parked offered a perfect view of the launch 15 miles away. As much as we Dan & I would have liked to watch it from the space center, the good seats were $250, and they will not refund your money if the launch is rescheduled. The tickets are for the launch, not for a particular date, so you just come on the day of the launch whenever it is. Space View Park is a perfect place to watch from, it is right on the water with an unobstructed view of the launch pad.

After I returned the car, I rode by the park to gauge how crowed it was, so we would know when to get there. At 8:30 the parking lot was already half full, we decided that as soon as I got back to the boat, we would head to the park. We got there in time to setup our chairs right on the bulkhead looking over the water. BY 9:30 all of the good places to sit were full.

It was well worth getting there early, as we could see both the AX-1 and Artimus rockets. They looked tiny from where we were but we were still able to see. We were close enough that when they started to vent the rocket we could see the steam coming out of it. At 11:17 we could see the flames coming out of the bottom of the rocket and liftoff. One more cool and exciting event added to our growing list.

On Saturday we will be heading to St Augustine FL. This will be a 87 mile, 12 hour ride. It is much farther than we like to travel in one day, (50 miles or 5 hours) but Dan & Cheri have a family emergency and need to get home as soon as possible. St Augustine Municipal Marina, has room for them to keep their boat, and is willing to work with them, on how long they need to leave the boat. Slips are difficult to find, and finding a marina that will work with them is well worth the long run. We will miss hanging with them, and hopefully they are able to resume their trip quickly.