Sunday January 31st 2016

It was a warm day today. The temperature was in the low 70s, but the sun never broke through the cloud cover. I headed out mid day to do some exploring to the east.
Once I got through the cities of Kissimmee and St Cloud, rural Florida was exposed. As the buildings thinned out, the cattle ranges began. I passed through acres and acres of land with grazing beef cattle. Florida is the 12th biggest cattle ranching state in the US and the leading producer of calves for use on ranches across the US. I sure saw plenty of young cattle which cause me to look up the facts about the Florida cattle industry. Thank-you internet.
I had a loose goal of Kelly park on Merit Island to watch the kite boarders and sail boarders having fun on the Banana River. I had enjoyed watching them on a previous excursion to the coast. Unfortunately weather conditions were not conducive to those activities. I had to settle for just people and boat watching.
From Kelly park you can see the cruise ships docked at Port Canaveral. They tower over the landscape. Today there were three ships in port. As it was approaching their departure time, I headed over to the Port to watch the ships depart.

Two Carnival cruise ships ready to depart

Port Canaveral is a very busy cruise ship port. It has several cruise ships in port most days. Today, the Carnival cruise ships the Sensation and the Sunshine along with the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas were in port. Many people gathered in the Cove section of the port to watch the ships get underway.
These huge vessels are very impressive as they maneuver in the confined harbor. It is remarkable that they can leave the docks turn around and get out to sea without the assistance of tug boats. They didn’t even run over any of the many weekend sailors in small crafts heading for the canal into the Banana and Indian Rivers.

Wood Stork?

The day was not without its wildlife viewing. While waiting for the cruise ships to depart, we were entertained by many brown pelicans patrolling the harbor for their lunch. The dock was patrolled by a couple of wood storks (I think) looking for handouts from the fisherman.  I’m going to have to get better at bird identification.
I continue to enjoy this coastal area and will be back to see more.