Great Loop Date 04.14.2011: To The Moon, Alice...

Thursday (April 14, 2011) Todd and I made an early start and drove the rental car from Titusville to the Kennedy Space Center.  We opted for a tour package that would let us tour the museum area as well as take a bus out to see the space shuttle Endeavor on the launch pad.  It would have been amazing to be able to stay in Titusville for the launch however, it had been moved to the first of May with the possibility of being delayed even longer.  With only Endeavor and Atlantis left to fly in the Space Shuttle program, we knew this tour was important.  We were not disappointed.

Upon entering Kennedy Space Center, we were in the Rocket Garden.  A walking tour with narration starts every 15 minutes.  It looked a lot like the Rocket Garden at Huntsville, AL. but was much more thorough.

The Saturn 1 Rocket was the United States' first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher.

Todd's only chance to send me too the moon!

Soyuz Space Capsule still in use to send astronauts to the International Space Station.  This will become our astronauts transportation to the ISS after the Space Shuttle Program ends.  The astronauts ride in the round ball at the end of the capsule.  It is designed such that it will literally bounce on the ground when it lands in the USSR after re-entry.

The robot from Lost In Space.  That's Todd beside it....not Will Robinson, although Will is probably about the same age (but not nearly as handsome)!

Mission Control in the early days.  It's the Mission Control most of us older folks remember.

Being transported out to the launch pad was so exciting.

 

The Orbiter Endeavor is encased in the service structure on the launch pad.  The enclosure protects it from weather and the environment.  It rotates away from the orbiter hours before lift off.

Shuttle Vehicle Assembly Building.  There are actually doors on both sides.  They assemble the rockets and the orbiters in this building.

The Shuttle Transporter.  It will make one more trip to the launch pad with Atlantis.

These are two tracks from the Transporter.  They are huge!

Soon these track marks will be history.

Launch Pad 39B was already being disassembled.  The Shuttle Program is coming to an end.

The barge that brings the solid rocket boosters back from the ocean.  They are cleaned and reused.

Mission Control and the Media Viewing Area.

The Dignitary Viewing Building.

The side of the Vehicle Assembly Building we are used to seeing in the news.

The Space Center is also a habitat for bald eagles.  This is a mother with her new chicks.

The Saturn 5 exhibit is nearly a duplicate of the exhibit at Huntsville, AL.

 

They did have a very nice presentation depicting the evolution of moon exploration.

Lunar Orbiter from the Saturn 5 Program.

Moon Rock sample.

Back outside we were able to walk through a Shuttle Orbiter Simulator.  This is the cockpit.

Directly behind the cockpit is the Shuttle Cargo Bay.

The Shuttle Arm that delivers the payload to the International Space Station.  It has also been instrumental in Satellite repairs.

The solid rocket boosters flanking the orange external propellant tank.

The Shuttle Simulator.

Todd and I absolutely got what we paid for....the best part of the tour!



It's the end of an era.  All of the orbiters will have new homes.  The Atlantis will stay in Cape Canaveral.  The Endeavor will be at home in Los Angeles, CA.  Discovery is going to Washington DC (actually outside of Dulles).  The Smithsonian is giving up the old Enterprise and she will go to the Intrepid in New York City.  We look forward to seeing Atlantis up close on our next Loop, as well as Enterprise in New York City.

In the meantime, space historians will write that on July 21, 2011, Atlantis, on the final flight of the space shuttle program, landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center. On July 22, 2,800 employees there were to receive layoff notices.

Great Loop Date 04.13.2011: Endeavour...

Day #244 (Wednesday): 3567.7 total miles (41.0 miles)

Port #82: Titusville, FL

The run from Indian Beach to Titusville was along more of the undeveloped urban stretches sprinkled with populated cities (Sebastian, Melbourne, Coco).  We passed Jones Fruit Dock without even seeing it, although I probably wasn't really looking for it either.  It is a popular stop for Loopers that offers an  inexpensive dock.  The 88 year old owner, Richard Milton Jones, passed away in March.  Old Mr Jones dedicated a lifetime to growing citrus on this farm and resisted all attempts to acquire the land for development.  Unfortunately, no one knows what the future holds for this little gem of Floridian charm.

Between the Bennett Bridge and the Merritt Island Causeway Bridge, we came upon this hulk of a ship anchored and aground in the Indian River. 

Princess Grace, the former USCGC MALLOW, WLB-396, seeking safe harbor from Tropical Storm Fay, was granted permission to pass from the ocean into the river via Port Canaveral, Canaveral Lock and the Barge Canal.  That happened in August 2008, and the Princess Grace has been anchored there ever since.  The US Coast Guard has been in contact with the owner.  They are concerned should a storm of large enough size dislodge the ship, cause damage enough fearing the potential of a fuel spill.  Of relevance is the larger amount of fuel aboard!

Todd deviated OB from our course heading just past the Bennett Causeway Bridge.  We moved east in the Canaveral Barge Canal.  Good diesel prices were advertised at Harbor Square Marina on Merritt Island.  The island was full of scrub brush and not much else.



Way down past that bridge is the Banana River and Cape Canaveral.  Cape Canaveral is actually a town located on a long barrier island with many other small towns along it.  The barge canal and a lock separate Cape Canaveral from the actual Air Force Station that houses the launch pads for our space rockets.  We didn't take OB that far.

Of course, we had to be in constant vigil for the ever present crab pots.







I was hoping to see the launch pad with the shuttle, Endeavor, as I looked north from the canal. All I could see was brush.







Satisfying OB's thirst for fuel and back on the Indian River, we could clearly make out the assembly building at Kennedy Space Center.

We passed through the bridge at the NASA Causeway.

Pushing my little Olympus camera for every pixel it could squeeze out, I was able to see the gantry tower and Endeavor as she waited for her launch date.

We took OB into the Titusville Marina and made arrangements for a rental car to take to Kennedy Space Center the next day.  Of course, we enjoyed another wonderful Florida sunset.

Great Loop Date 04.08-12.2011: Things Change, Things Rearrange...

Day #239 (Friday): 3425.9 total miles (50.5 miles)
Port #79: North Palm Beach, FL

This was a tough day.  We set OB on a course going north on the AICW leaving behind our friends on NII Wishin.  We had spent most of the last 8 months with them.  The sky was blue, the sun was Florida bright, the weather was warm and I was depressed.  (Note: It's taken me 6 months to get back to OB's blog and finally I feel like I can finish it.)

The scenery along the AICW continued to be a collection of beautiful homes.

These homes were in Boca Raton, FL.

Of course, there were more bridges along the way.  This is the Camino Bridge in Boca Raton, FL.

Boca Raton Lake had a collection of retirees enjoying the mid-day sun.

The lake was circled by huge condominium complexes and flanked by docks with boats that made OB feel small.

This was interesting...but I have to admit it was low tide.

The sign is hard to read.  It says 'ROCK'.  I imagined this was all submerged at high tide.

More big boats met us as we reached Palm Beach.

These yachts look more like buildings floating on the water when they are shrink wrapped.

The Lake Worth Inlet at Palm Beach welcomes Loopers returning from the Bahamas.  Loopers that chose to cross Lake Okeechobee also use this inlet on their way to the Bahamas.

Friday afternoon on Peanut Island in Lake Worth.  The weekend had started!

More folks enjoying Friday afternoon on Lake Worth.

Charlie was enjoying his Friday, too.

We travelled an 8 hour day, stopping at North Palm Beach Marina.  A kind gentleman was cleaning his fresh catch at the dock and gave us some nice King Fish.  I had already prepared dinner so we kept it for another day.

Day #240 (Saturday): 3488.3 total miles (62.4 miles)
Port #80: Vero Beach. FL

Todd and I looked forward to our next stop at Vero Beach.  We had heard so much about it.  It has been nicknamed Velcro Beach because so many folks come and stay much longer than they planned.

As we headed up Lake Worth Creek (AICW), we passed OB's twin sister at Jupiter, FL.

The landscaping around these beautiful AICW homes is just breathtaking.

The Jupiter Inlet Light.  At each of the inlets, the AICW would make a turn toward the Atlantic Ocean.  Then it would turn back north.

Many local boats were going fishing on a calm Atlantic Ocean by way of the Jupiter Inlet.

 

As we turned north into the AICW, we met these paddleboarders.  We've seen so many along our trip.  It seemed to be a popular pastime.

The building boom continued to amaze us.

These were the visitor's quarters (or mother-in-laws house) being built on the property above.

The osprey were nesting in many tall trees along the way.

Another popular anchorage along the AICW is Peck Lake near Jupiter Sound.

Charlie continued to take it all in stride.

Pt. Lucie Park in Jupiter Sound offers free dockage...but OB was too big for this shallow marina.

Coming into Pt. Lucie Inlet can be dicey.  It's a very busy inlet with boat traffic coming and going from Stuart and the Okeechobee Canal.  It also has a wide opening into the Atlantic so if Neptune is stirring up the seas, the currents and chop at this crossing can be added misery.

Once across the inlet, we were in the Indian River.  It is an estuarine system where fresh water meets salt water within the same body of water.  The Indian River is 153 miles long.

We passed the huge Pt. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant.  It is a twin nuclear power station with Unit 1 commissioned in 1976 and Unit 2 commissioned in 1983.  I sits on Hutchinson Island which is a barrier island separating the Indian River from the Atlantic Ocean.

This is a quiet little anchorage called Faber Point off Shorty's Slough Inlet at the Ft. Pierce.

Not too much farther north was the Vero Beach City Marina and Moorings.

Once on our mooring, we dropped the dinghy in the water.  Charlie took interest in the boat behind us.

He really wanted to meet the neighbors...but they left early the next morning.

The beautiful Florida Sunsets continued without fail!

The next day we decided to do some exploring.   We took the dinghy in to the dinghy dock.  It looked like a mall parking lot but there is space for everyone!

The beach was quite a hike from the moorings.  Of course, we wandered around the little beach shops first, so that added a mile or two.

It doesn't seem to matter where we land, there's always a Happy Hour somewhere!  This time we found a good view and comfortable spot at a very busy hangout named Waldo's.

A great little band was playing by the pool, the beer was cold, the appetizers were delicious and life was good.

The walk back to the marina was just as far.  We did find an easy way to take the dinghy up a creek that would put us two blocks from the beach.  So we made plans for Monday.

Monday we put our little beach chairs and cooler in the dinghy and headed up Bethel Creek.  We very nearly had the beach to ourselves.

The surf was too rough to go in very far.  It almost took me down when I put my feet in.  The water was warm and the day was relaxing.

Day #243 (Tuesday): 3526.7 total miles (38.3 miles)
Port #81: Indian Harbor Beach, FL

Tuesday was another beautifully sunny day.  As we moved up the AICW from Vero Beach, the setting became more rural.

There were still many large properties along the way.  The population was just less dense.

Populated areas were few and far between.  Capt. Hiram's at Sebastian, FL looked inviting.

This dive boat captain may have stayed at Capt. Hiram's a little too long.

We came across a group of sailboats from Canada heading home for the summer.

We also passed this interesting little pontoon boat.

By early afternoon, OB found her way into Indian Harbor Beach, her stopping point for the night.  On the way into the channel, I was anxious to check out a local landmark.

The Merritt Island Dragon (at Dragon Point); was a dragon-shaped green cement structure that stood at the southern tip of Merritt Island where the Indian River Lagoon split to form the Banana River Lagoon. The dragon was built in 1971 by Florida artist Louis Van DerCar and property owner Aynn Christal. This creature was created from 20 short tons of cement and steel, and stood 35 feet high and 65 feet long. Guarding the lagoon from her perch on Dragon Point, "Annie" was a landmark for both locals and boaters. It served primarily as a playhouse for children.  At one time it did indeed breathe fire fueled by propane tanks.

The home and dragon were completely renovated in the early 1980s.  In August 2002 the Dragon was badly damaged by a storm and partially collapsed into the water.  The house on the property still remains and would require a lot of renovation and rebuilding make livable again.  Even so it is 95% intact and can be had for a cool $950,000.

Sadly, this is what Annie looks like today.