Connor & Jillian Have Arrived!

Jason, Connor & Jillian arrived around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. We were so happy to see them! We gave them their Christmas presents and I had made them a card that read on the front:
"Connor & Jillian...now that you are in Florida, what are you going to do?" Their response was, "We are going to Kennedy Space Center and the Atlantic Ocean". Then they opened the card and inside it said, "You're going to:" (below which I had printed pictures of the entrance to Walt Disney World Resort & the entrance to Magic Kingdom). They were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. We spent from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. yesterday at Magic Kingdom. They had so much fun and it was worth every penny just to watch them. I only took 531 pictures yesterday, so it was hard to pick just a couple to post here. Today we went to Daytona Beach so the kids could swim in the ocean and to the Daytona 500 Experience at Daytona International Speedway. Tomorrow and Monday we will be going to the Kennedy Space Center and to Merritt Island and Canaveral National Seashore. Tuesday morning they will leave for Michigan and we will be heading across the state to Spring Hill, FL for 3 months.

We had a nice Christmas dinner at Bob's cousins. It was pretty laid back and just didn't seem the same without the grandkids around. It's always been so much fun watching them at Christmastime. That's alright...once they arrived here Thursday we had all the Christmas we needed!

On a serious note, my Dad fell in the bedroom Christmas night and broke his shoulder blade. He was in the hospital and today they moved him to a rehab facility for a couple of months. It's a miracle with all the times he has fallen that this was the first time he's broken a bone. Unfortunately the shoulder blade is a bad one that they can't set in a cast or anything and he can't use his walker now. It's going to be very hard on him to not be at home, but they can get him the therapy he needs to get healed.

Rocket Launch from Cape Canaveral AFB

Here's a picture of the rocket launch we watched on Thursday. It was a bit of a disappointment after the one we saw a couple of weeks ago, but still pretty cool.

Yesterday we went to Winter Haven to visit with Bob's cousin, Marlene. We had a great time and she invited us for Christmas dinner. She has to work that day at Disney World, but her nephew will start dinner and we'll bring the rest. So, we're looking forward to another nice visit with her.

Today we made a practice run to Disney World and we were glad we did. Now we know what route we are NOT going to take next Friday!

Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge

We spent most of today at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore. We saw many interesting birds (including eagles), alligators and manatees. The first picture is a Roseate Spoonbill and the other I haven't identified yet (double-click on picture for a larger view).

We heard on the news last night that the shuttle launch is now scheduled for January 10th at 2:30 a.m., so we may get to see a night launch which will be awesome. There's another scheduled for February 14th and we plan to see that one, too. We saw a rocket launch the other day, but didn't have time to photograph it. There's another scheduled for December 20th and I will be ready with my camera this time.

Reid & Debbie left early this morning for Texas. :-( We'll be all alone until Jason, Connor & Jillian arrive. I'm sure we won't have any problem finding something to keep us busy. The weather has been unbelievably perfect. It's a little too warm for Bob some days, but we're not complaining.

Kennedy Space Center

We are still waiting for the launch of the Atlantis Space Shuttle. Latest word today is that it will be at least January 2nd. We are leaving here on January 1st, but will be close enough to drive back over here for the launch. Unfortunately, Morrie & Dixie left here Friday and Reid & Debbie are leaving this week for Texas. We spent all day Tuesday at Kennedy Space Center with Reid & Debbie. We will be going back today or tomorrow to finish the tour. Bob & I upgraded to annual passes so we can go back again with Jason, Connor & Jillian. Connor will love that place! I took 255 pictures that day. We were able to see Atlantis on the launch pad and right after we were there they stopped all bus tours in that area, so we got really lucky on that one. We saw eagles, alligators and wild pigs while there. We are going to try again to go to Merritt Island for the nature preserve and Canaveral National Seashore. It was closed off with armed guards last week because of the pending launch. It should be reopened now. The weather has been fantastic...sunny and in the high 70's and low 80's every day. Every day we wake up to "just another day in paradise!" The pictures above are of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and Atlantis on the launch pad. The VAB is so large that the stripes on the flag are 8' wide and each star is 6' across. They are still replacing some of the tiles on the building that were blown off in a hurricane. We can see the launch pad and the VAB from our campground.

Titusville, Florida

We arrived at Manatee Hammock RV Park in Titusville, FL early yesterday afternoon. This campground is gorgeous (well-shaded with a canopy of palm trees) and right across the river from the Kennedy Space Center. We can see the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC from our campsite. We will be in perfect position for the shuttle launch on Thursday afternoon. Reid & Debbie are due here this afternoon, Richard & Joanne from West Palm Beach will be here in a couple of days and Morrie & Dixie will be here on Wednesday. We will be having a launch party!