20th Anniversary Adventure 2016 - Day 1

Chad and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary with a 12-day road trip around some of the southern states. We’ll start in Florida, end up in Tennessee, and that’s all we know. That’s all we planned. 

Last night, we took a red-eye to Orlando and our plane landed at 5:45 this morning just as the sun was rising. We picked up our rental car and drove to a Waffle House for breakfast. As we took our seats at the counter, our waitress Susie brought us some coffee. We had never been to a Waffle House before and when I mentioned that to Susie, she laughed and said, ”Noooo, really?" And when we told her we just flew in from Seattle she said, "Your arms must be tired!" Susie was full of one-liners, and she served us up a delicious and filling breakfast in between telling us all about herself and her 39-year career as a Waffle House waitress. We liked Susie a lot; she entertained us while we chugged coffee and planned our next step. She also had lots of tips about things to do on our trip. Thanks, Susie.

I just really wanted to see an alligator; it was high on my list of things to do. I imagined they’d be laying all over the roads, snapping at passing cars and eating joggers. I checked under the car when we left the restaurant because I heard they hide out and bite the feet of unsuspecting drivers. Nothing but a crushed Coke can. I had been in Florida for two hours and was getting annoyed by the lack of alligators.

We drove 40 minutes east to Cocoa Beach. Chad saw a dead armadillo on the side of the freeway. The poor little guy was on his back, a pool of blood underneath him. But still no gators. At the beach, the sky was overcast but it was 80 degrees and the ocean was warm (ish). We walked on the beach for a while then laid our giant beach towels in the sand and tried to nap. Like homeless people. I found a plastic bottle among the garbage strewn about the beach and filled it with soft white sand, only having to sift out 2 or 3 cigarette butts. And what appeared to be a rat turd.

Cocoa Beach Pier

3D mural at Cocoa Beach

Next, we drove north to Cape Canaveral so we could go to Kennedy Space Center. As we drove, I glanced over to the side of the road and screamed, “There’s an alligator! Right there! I just saw one!” Chad made an illegal U-Turn for me because he loves me, and as we pulled over onto the shoulder, there was an alligator, watching a couple of cranes (or egrets… or ibis...I’m not a bird expert.) I jumped out of the car and hid behind a lightpost. I was safe because there was a small canal separating me from the alligator. I took his picture and then yelled, “See ya later, alligator!” and laughed and laughed.

My wish came true!

We spent a few hours at Kennedy Space Center. There is a “rocket garden” where some of NASA’s old rockets are displayed. We read the signs, and gawked at the power of those rockets. We talked about how the kids would be so mad at us if we had brought them. Eventually, we were too hot and sweaty, so we bought soft serve ice cream cones. Mine gave me brain freeze. I'd like to see those brave astronauts try and deal with something as horrible as brain freeze.

Actual rocket boosters and external tank
that propelled the space shuttle into orbit.

Official astronaut traning preparation

The actual service arm that Neil Amrstong and Buzz Aldrin
walked across to board Apollo 11.

Unfortunately, these are not available in the gift shop.

We watched a 3D IMAX film called, A Beautiful Planet, which was filmed on the International Space Station. There was a clip of the astronauts preparing to receive a shipment of supplies from Japan. I leaned over and whispered to Chad, “This was the shipment that exploded before it reached the space station.” He gave me a look that seemed to challenge my NASA expertise and mock me simultaneously. It took me a few moments to remember that the explosion had happened in the movie The Martian and not  in real life.

We ended our tour of the space center by visiting the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit which was phenomenal. Getting to be so close to a space shuttle that had flown 33 missions, 126 million miles, and whose three main engines generated over 37 million horsepower was mind boggling. This was our grand finale and then, as with all museum exhibits, we exited through the gift shop stopping to buy souvenirs for a certain child back home.

As we drove away, I saw yet another alligator in the canal. This one was dead and floating upside down, but Chad made another U-Turn for me. There was no shoulder to pull the car over, or else I would have fished it out of the water and performed an autopsy. So on we drove.

In search of coffee, we passed through a tired little beach town called Titusville. We found a cafe called Sunrise Bread Company and bought blueberry scones to go with our iced drinks. We commented on how delicious the coffee was, and laughed when we found out they serve Batdorf & Bronson, a company founded in Olympia. They have a roastery in Atlanta, but it really is a small world.

Driving north to Daytona Beach, we encountered a crazy thunder storm. The rain was so heavy we could hardly see the road, the lightning bolts were bright violet, flashing across the sky every thirty seconds, and the thunder sounded like bombs going off around us. We checked in to the Hilton Daytona Beach resort during the heaviest rain. Our room has an ocean view and we watched the storm pass. And then it returned. It was so fierce we decided to order room service, open the sliding glass door, and watch the show. We have no idea where we'll end up tomorrow, but we sure hope you join us!

A beautiful break from the storm.

"For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace." 
                         - John F. Kennedy

- Rachel