Moonlight - Day 2 - Cape Canaveral

4/23/17, “Cape Canaveral”

Aboard DL 3744, En route JAX-LGA

I have gone to Florida almost every year for 29 years now, usually to the Palm Beach area, but this is the fifth time I have been in the Orlando area.  It has taken that many times for me to finally visit Cape Canaveral, which along with visiting the State Capitol last night, at last allowed me to say, “Florida Complete.”  Tallahassee is completely out of the way, and going there is really the only reason to be in that area.  On the other hand, while Kennedy Space Center is a huge draw, the National Seashore is not, and it is out of the way, over an hour by car from Orlando, despite its geographic proximity.  Despite all of that, I have now visited both places.  It has been a rather odd and bland trip, but I did what I set out to do, and I have said both “Florida Complete” and “Georgia Complete” this trip.

Alabama would be the natural next choice, but Obama designated two new National Monuments in Alabama before he left office, so it will probably be another year or two before they have their brochures.  I do not have much in reflections, since this trip so similar to my other weekend domestic trips.  It was about increasing my NPS count, which is now up to 281, I think.  It is hard to get a precise count, and I sometimes have to adjust my count by plus or minus 1 from time to time.  It is definitely between 275 and 285, of the approximately 420 units, so I am now at the two-thirds mark.  I am proud of this progress, and I will be even prouder when I have visited each and every unit.  That is probably about 5 to 10 years away.  Okay, enough about this.

After I closed last night, I went back to my hotel, relaxed for a bit, and then went outside to light up a Cuban Stock and play Zelda.  I very quickly beat the boss that I had so struggled against Friday night, using better equipment and some refined tactics.  I explored a bit before disregarding most of my exploration and calling it a night.  I woke up a few minutes before 7 AM, got ready, and headed downstairs.  Breakfast was already set up, so I had coffee, a mini muffin, and a bagel.

It was a long drive to Cape Canaveral, and I didn’t want to stop.  I lit up a Caoba, and resumed listening the Howard Stern Show.  The skies were gloomy, and I hoped that I would be able to avoid the storm.  Fortuitously, they were almost at the exact spot of the George Takei episode where I had left off yesterday, so that was good.  That was followed by the Sheryl Crow episode.

I had forgotten how much I had loved listening to him in high school, and he had not lost his magic even a decade later.  The drive was boring and unadventurous, but Howard made it go fast, as did the Graycliff and Prensado that followed my Caoba.  I stopped for gas shortly before I got to Cape Canaveral, and then I crossed the bridge to the island.

I was tight on time, and I figured I had about an hour at the Space Center, which meant I wouldn’t have enough time to do the full tour like we did at Johnson Space Center.  Besides, the only way to see the launch pad was on a 3-hour tour, which was never going to happen.  I got lunch, a bacon cheeseburger with mushrooms and onions, along with fries and a seltzer, trying to recreate my experience from Houston as much as possible.  The burger tasted almost exactly the same as the one in Houston did.

I then went to see the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which was the main highlight other than the launch pad.  That was quite an experience, and I was impressed by the shear awesomeness of it, but I was out of time, and I knew that the only way to properly experience the Space Center would have been to spend a full 8-hour day there.  Maybe next time.  I got my souvenirs and headed back to the car, lighting up an Aroma de Cuba as I walked to the car.

It took slightly over an hour to get to Cape Canaveral NS, which was entirely unimpressive.  It was really just a beach that happened to secure federal protection and was thereby designated an NS.  I did my business at the VC, lit up an H. Upmann and then headed to the beach to take my ceremonial picture.  That was it, “Florida Complete.”  After 29 years.  From there, it was a straight shot to the airport, and I was outrunning a storm.  I was now listening to the beginning of the Alec Baldwin episode, of which I had only caught the second half yesterday, so that made the ride go fast.  I stopped for gas and to clean out my car about 10 miles from the airport.  I drove off only to realize that I was so preoccupied with cleaning out the car that I hadn’t actually filled the tank, so I had to stop at another gas station a few miles from the airport.

I got to the airport with enough time for dinner but not enough time to write my entry, but, after Houston, I had also written my entry en route, so it had the symmetry.  Check-in and security was quick, and I had about an hour before my flight, so I got a pizza, just like I did before my Houston flight, very much enjoying this symmetry.  I then went to the gate, and we soon boarded.  I got my bourbon, and we soon took off.  I then proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close, eating some snacks as I wrote.  I will also now close out this trip.  Next stop: Washington to celebrate Trump’s first hundred days.