Saturday April 13th 2019

It was another warm day with highs in the mid 80s and a sea breeze. The temperature inland is in warmer by five degrees or more. According to the TV weather people this is early in the year for ninety degree weather. The daytime temperature isn’t a problem, particularly with the breeze, but the fact that it only gets to the mid seventies overnight is a problem. I run the air conditioner before going to bed to get the inside temperature down. The AC is noisy enough that I don’t like running it a night until it is really bad.

I was back to exploring the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge today. When I stopped at the manatee viewing area on the Haul Over Canal, I actually saw a few manatee. If you watched the canal closely you’d see a dark area moving in the water. Eventually a nose would break the surface for air. If you were really lucky you might see a tail break the surface as the animal headed back toward the bottom. The boat traffic had to be real careful.

My new exploration for the day in the NWR was a drive along the Bio Lab Road. It is one way dirt road along the Mosquito Lagoon of the Indian River North. The river is on one side and a canal or marsh is on the other for several miles. I imagine watchful eyes would spot an alligator or two in the canal area. I was to busy watching for pot holes on the challenging road. Taking the drive on a weekend day was a mistake. Many people were pulled to the side of the road and had their fishing equipment spread out along the canal and the river. Even so, it was a good experience with lots of nice scenic views. There just wasn’t as much wildlife as I’d hoped to see.

Back at my RV home this afternoon I got settled in watching the TV. I was doing a bit of channel surfing between two very different programs. On won end of the spectrum was the Masters golf tournament. It is a very quiet dignified and calm program. The other program I’d surf over to was the Game of Thrones Marathon in preparation for tomorrow nights final season premier. That program is the product of nightmares, but it is addictive too. I’m anxious to see the new season of shows.

Friday April 12th 2019

It was another beautiful weather day. There were a few puffy clouds to go with the sunshine and nice sea breeze. The temperature in this area peaked in the mid 80s, but inland it made it to the nineties.

During my entire stay at the Seasons in the Sun RV Resort the snowbirds have been gradually packing and heading north. Today was my neighbors turn. They have been taking things down and packing all week. I was wondering how they were going to move the trailer since they were driving in a sedan. This morning a truck showed up to transport their fifth wheel trailer to the storage area. A little while later they began their drive back to New Jersey. If you aren’t going to use the trailer in the north during the summer months, that the way to do the snowbird thing.

After spending so much time over the last couple of days waiting for the rocket launch, I needed to do some grocery shopping today. It felt like my supplies were really getting low. I was raiding my freezer and getting creative for meals most of the week. Surprisingly, I didn’t have to buy as much as I expected. It was the things I was missing that made the difference. Once I bought milk, bread, orange juice and some meat, I didn’t need a lot of other things.

The rest of my day was enjoyable down time. I’ve been touring the Wildlife Refuge or walking the beach waiting on a rocket launch just about every day for more than a week. Tomorrow is forecast to be another good day so I’ll probably be back in touring mode.

Thursday April 12th 2019

It was a beautiful day for a rocket launch. The day started foggy and cloudy, but ended with high well scattered clouds. The only down side was the temperature. It got to the mid eighties.

I made my second attempt to watch the launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center. Today was successful. I returned to the same location I parked at yesterday. The parking lot at the Cherie Down Park was still had a few spaces when I arrived a half an hour later than yesterday. I was aiming for a 3PM or later arrival, but made good time and arrived before 3PM. I had more than 3.5 hours to kill before the launch.

Similar to yesterday I walked north along the beach to Jetty Park. Even though it was packed, it didn’t look like there were as many people there today. I spent time walking around watching the people, the birds, the boats in the Port Canaveral channel and the fishermen. All of the local news crews were back with their remote equipment. The highlight today was the departure of the Carnival Cruise Ship Liberty.

Around 5PM I walked back down the beach to my car for a snack and to get my good camera. I still had close to an hour wait before the launch. The beach continued to fill up with people from nearby residences. By the time the 6:35PM launch occurred the beach was an obstacle course of people.

This is the fifth launch I’ve seen. The first was a Space Shuttle launch in the early 1990s. The next three were smaller rockets that launched in the last few years. I think two were Falcon 9s and one was another brand. The big difference with this one is the extra thrust and fire going up and the return of the two side boosters to land a few minutes later. One of the reasons I chose this location to watch the launch was the proximity to the booster landing area. The third booster landed on a ship at sea well over the horizon.

Leaving the beach area after the launch was a challenge. The setting sun was directly in front of the west bound lane filled with stop and go cars. The journey was further complicated by cars trying to join the migration from the side of the road. Many people had decided to stop on the causeway to watch the launch. I was back at my RV home before 8PM.

Wednesday April 10th 2019

There were a few light showers overnight, but it was just cloudy by morning. It took until almost noon for the clouds to part enough for the sunshine to reach the ground. The temperature peaked in the mid eighties and a few afternoon showers passed through parts of the area.

The launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket was scheduled for the window from six thirty five in the afternoon until eight thirty. To get a decent place to watch the launch I left my RV home shortly after 1PM. I choose to watch the launch about an hour from home on the beach south of the Kennedy Space center in Cape Canaveral or Cocoa Beach Florida. I could have chosen areas in Titusville across the Indian River from the complex that were closer, but there was less to do while I waited in that area.

I parked at the Cherie Down Park on the beach in Cape Canaveral. I’m familiar with the area from my previous stays at Jetty Park just to the north in Port Canaveral. The beach is in much better condition than it was in November thanks to a beach sand reclamation project. Contractors are dredging sand north of Port Canaveral and piping it through two foot diameter pipes onto the beach south of Port Canaveral. I spent most of the nearly five hours I spent waiting for the launch walking on the new beach sand.

To kill time I walked up the beach to Jetty Park. As I feared, it was already full of people waiting to see the launch before 3PM. One of the television channels showed people arriving at Jetty park on the morning news. People lined the side of the Port Canaveral channel watching the boats and birds to pass the time. Many people had fishing lines in the water. I even saw a few small fish caught from the fishing pier. While I was wandering around the Jetty Park area the word spread through the waiting crowd that the launch time had moved from 6:35PM to 8PM. It wasn’t a welcomed thing to hear for people like myself that were already getting board.

By 5:15 I was back down the beach at my car. I had water and a snack in the car to keep me going for the next few hours. The small parking lot at Cherie Down Park was completing full and the sheriffs deputies were keeping people from parking on the road. To keep busy while I waited the remaining couple of hours, I walked south on the beach toward the Cocoa Beach pier. The pipe line for the beach sand reclamation project continues south along the beach. I turned around at about six fifteen and returned to my car at Cherie Down Park to recharge my phone.

With enough charge in my phone to check the SpaceX twitter feed, I learned that the latest launch target was 8:32. They were waiting for the strong winds at altitude to subside, but weren’t optimistic. I got ready to leave. The launch was postponed until tomorrow. I get to walk the beach and wait all over again.

Tuesday April 9th 2019

The day began with a little rain and ended with a lot of rain. In between the rain the sun came out for two or three hours. It was just enough to add plenty of heat to the humidity. Around four the sky opened up and a deluge came down accompanied by a little lightening and a lot of wind.

The first thing on today’s agenda was figuring out where I was going to be located tomorrow night. My week at the Seasons in the Sun RV Resort ends on Wednesday. I had been putting off the decision on my next stop. In the end I decided to extend my stay here for another week. Now I have another chance to see the Space X Falcon Heavy launch tomorrow or whenever it ends up launching during the next week. My big challenge now is finding a good viewing place without thousands of other people already there.

During the sunny part of the day, I returned to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve. I wanted to see a manatee or two at the Haul Over canal. Last spring I saw about six near the viewing area. Last week I only saw a couple swim by. I hoped that I might see a few more today, but instead I only saw one. Instead I was entertained by the Pelicans that call the area around the nearby drawbridge home. They use the height of the bridge supports and protective pilings to spot the fish in the canal. The noisy splash as the pelican enters the water after a fish is impressive.

I spent the rest of the day scouting possible locations to watch the launch tomorrow. All I really achieved is a knowledge of where the possible viewing sports are located. I’m going to have to play it by sight tomorrow. Sometime in the early afternoon I’ll pick a spot and wait for the launch window which opens shortly after six thirty until about eight thirty. That’s going to be a long wait, but it may not be enough if some of the estimates I’ve heard are to be believed.

Monday April 8th 2019

Today was another summer like day in Florida. It was sunny, hot and humid during the day. The temperature peaked in the upper eighties with a nice sea breeze in this area. Inland it got even warmer causing strong thunderstorms to develop and drift into this area after dark this evening. It rain hard off an on for about an hour. A front with more severe weather is due in the area tomorrow.

Today I drove the Black Point Wildlife Drive in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The seven mile one way dirt road follows the dikes that surround shallow marsh ponds. There were plenty of birds and a few alligators to see in the animal category. They were complimented by many blooming wildflowers. According to the literature, April is a little late for the peak of the bird viewing season.

As you slowly follow the road as it winds around the marsh ponds you need to be on the look out for wildlife. Most of the birds are a good distance back from the road so binoculars would be helpful. Mine were back at my RV home. I tried to take pictures with my camera zoomed to the maximum of the optical zoom, but they didn’t provide great detail. Most of the gators were in hiding today. I saw a couple of small ones mostly submerged. It was still a very enjoyable drive.

I took one hike about two thirds of the way around the drive. The Allen Cruickshank trail has a number of observation platforms to watch the wildlife. It was a little too warm to hike the entire trail without a good water supply. I really wasn’t prepared for a hike in the heat and humidity. I checked out the area from the two observation platforms nearest the trail head. When the clouds started to build on the western horizon, I ended my explorations and returned to my RV home. The rain didn’t arrive for a couple of hours.

Sunday April 7th 2019

Last night there was a severe thunderstorm to the west of here. It produced an impressive light and noise show, but never came this way. Today was another warm day in the high eighties with a nice sea breeze. As long as you were in the breeze it was comfortable.

I spent most of the day relaxing and watching TV at my RV home. My one excursion was a drive over to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Reserve for a walk along the Indian River. There were many other people out enjoying the River and the NWR. They were doing everything from riding personal water craft to sun bathing along the causeway out to the island.

I walked out one of the access roads along the side of the Indian River. There was marshes with plenty of little ponds and natural canals on one side and an impressive view of the Titusville shore line across the river on the other side of the road. There was a lot of small bird activity in the area, but they were continuously moving so my camera never caught them. It was a fun walk, but I needed to get out of the sun after a while.

Today was the day the Space X Falcon Heavy launch was tentatively schedule. On Saturday it was rescheduled for Tuesday evening. The current weather forecast calls for thunderstorms Tuesday afternoon. I hope it happens before I move on Wednesday. It may be a little crowded in the area. The TV indicates that up to one hundred thousand visitors may flock to the area to see the launch of the current worlds biggest rocket. I’ve been scouting out viewing locations, but I expect I’ll have to be very flexible.

Saturday April 6th 2019

Today was a sunny warm to hot day in Florida. The temperature got close to ninety with a decidedly summer weather pattern. Strong thunderstorms developed in the core of the peninsular late in the day and moved toward the coast. The worst of the storms passed to the north of my location. The pattern is forecast to repeat tomorrow with a couple of degrees added to the temperature reading.

I had busy day of watching today. I watched the wildlife at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, the people enjoying water sports in the Banana River and the Cruise ships departing Port Canaveral. Most of my wildlife watching was along the Haulover canal which connects the main Indian River with Mosquito Lagoon closer to the coast and part of the north branch of the Indian River. The canal is popular for fishing and home to a number of Manatees. I only saw a couple manatees today, but lots of weekend fishermen.

The second part of my day of watching was on the other side of Titusville in the Port Canaveral area. I wanted to watch the cruise ships depart. The schedule I found on the internet indicated they would be departing at 4PM and 5PM, so I stopped at Kelly Park on the Banana River on Merritt Island to eat up some time. Today the people enjoying the wind and river were having more success than yesterday. There were half a dozen windsurfers on the river moving at a good pace. Along with the expected pleasure boats there were a few kayaks and personal water craft. The most entertaining use of the water was a kite surfer.

I got to Port Canaveral in plenty of time to watch the cruise ships depart. There was a lot of action in the Cove restaurant and entertainment part of the port. The charter fishing boats were returning from their day fishing in the Atlantic. People and Pelicans were gathered around to see the catch and watch the fish get cleaned. A few lucky pelicans got an easy supper out of the deal. The main channel of the port was busy with returning pleasure boats and the far side was busy unloading big cargo ships. The four cruise ships in port were patiently waiting to depart. In face so patiently that only one ship departed a little after 4PM. The Carnival Breeze got escorted out of port by the harbor police and the Coast Guard. The other Carnival ship, the Norwegian EPIC and the Disney ship showed no sign of moving. I got suspicious and checked the Marine traffic web site from my phone. The other three weren’t leaving until after 6PM. The Disney ship was scheduled to leave closer to 8PM. I chose not to wait.

Friday April 5th 2019

Today began with rain. A front moved across the area from the northwest to southeast. It rained from just before sunrise until just before 9AM. It gradually cleared and warmed up into the eighties as the day progressed. The forecasters warned of an additional front around sunset, but it never materialized.

The Seasons in the Sun RV Resort is full during the winter with Snowbirds. If I had tried to get in last week I wouldn’t have succeeded. Many sites became available last Sunday on the 31st of March. When I arrived on Wednesday there were a hand full of sites available in each of the three areas. Every morning additional RVs depart the resort. The number of empty sites today looks like it is more than tripled the number available on Wednesday. Other people are getting ready to depart. They have stuff spread out on the grass as they repack their storage bins or they have a Mobil RV service company in to help them with aspects of getting ready. Some of the residents don’t look like they have the physical ability or skill to get their RVs ready for travel. Others will probably have a transport company move their RV to storage. It is an interesting process to watch.

I did some more touring of the area today. I spent some time at Kelly Park on Merritt Island watching the activity in the Banana River. A number of Sailboarders were attempting to get out on the river, but the wind strength and direction were against them. Of the four people trying, only one seem to find the correct angle of tack to get clear of the shore.

The other nice thing to see at Kelly Park were the birds. After yesterday’s absence of birds, I found a good number of avian creatures to draw my interest. There was a Pelican floating in the boat basin that seem to be very proud of its presence and I sure enjoyed watching it. The birds also made an appearance back at my RV home this afternoon. This Ibis that visited on Wednesday afternoon was back with a few friends.

Thursday April 4th 2019

Today’s weather was very similar to Wednesday’s. It was sunny and windy with a high temperature around eighty. A beautiful day for a wandering drive around the area.

I spent most of my wandering experience in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. It is across the Indian River from Titusville and shares the island with the Canaveral National Seashore and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Today I walked the trails around the Merritt Island NWR visitors center.

Yesterday on the drive to the coast from the Orlando area and here at the RV Resort I saw lots of birds. For some reason I didn’t see many birds today. The wildlife refuge and the causeway across the Indian River should be ideal areas for the shore birds, but not today. On the trail at the visitors center I heard several song birds but didn’t see any. There must have been something about today’s wind direction or other weather condition that kept the birds out of sight.

There were many nice blossoms of wild flowers along the trail and a few cultivated flower bushes at the NWR visitors center to keep me interested. I took a few pictures of the better colors. Last spring I saw a few turtles and fish in the pond, but not today. The most interesting creature on today’s walk was a dragon fly on the boardwalk. I’ll look for more wildlife tomorrow deaper into the NWR.