Tag Archives: Wekiwa SP (FL)

2014/02/20 (R) Cape Canaveral (FL)

We were up early this morning and on the road by 6:15 AM in order to get Linda to the Orlando International Airport between 8:00 – 8:30 AM for her 10:30 AM flight back to Michigan.  We took the Florida Turnpike and met that objective easily.  The SunPass we bought for the Florida toll road system has proven to be very handy, speeding us through toll plazas without having to stop, and often without having to slow down.

I had several alternatives for what to do with my day given that I was already in Orlando.  One was to head to Wekiwa SP to finish photographing a bus, but the owners were away for the day.  Another was to pay a return visit to fellow GLCCers Bill and Karen (and Mike and Kathy) at the Orange City RV Park, but they were also away from the campground for the day.

The plan that worked out was to continue on to the east on FL-528 (toll) to the Cape Canaveral area, specifically Merritt Island and Jetty Park, which is on the Atlantic Ocean north of Cocoa Beach.  Pat and Vickie, our friends from GLCC, had recently relocated to the Jetty Park Campground from Fort Wilderness (Walt Disney World) and thought I would enjoy the place.  The Park and Campground are owned and operated by the Cape Canaveral Port Authority and I drove past the cruise ship and freight terminals on the way into the park.

I enjoyed the park and ended up having lunch and dinner with Pat and Vickie (thank you) and stayed well into the evening to watch a rocket launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station just north of the park and south of the John F. Kennedy Space Center.  The launch was to place a military satellite into orbit, and used a 3-rocket booster.  Liftoff was at 9:00 PM and lit up to night sky.  The sound was also impressive

I waited until 9:45 PM for traffic to thin out a bit, and then headed for Williston.  I did surprising well on the drive considering how long a day it turned out to be.  Vickie sent a bag of pretzels with me so I would have something to munch on the drive.  I stopped on the Florida Turnpike (FL-91) for fuel and got some coffee at the Dunkin’ Donuts.  I arrived back at WCRV Resort around 12:30 AM.

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