Spring Break (March 2025) ~ Part II

Only a few days in Florida and we wanted to be sure to hit some cool sights.  And that includes the Kennedy Space Center - as recommended by our friend. And it did not disappoint!  Other than how everyone else also wanted to see the rocket launch on the same day that we decided to go.  Ha!

I drew up a little NASA thing on a bottle for a friend, plus some constellations. I think it turned out pretty well :-)

It took us over an hour to get to the Space Center:

Family photo op!

These rockets are pretty impressive!

Even the water bottles. Ha!

We decided to take a quick bite as we entered the park, unknowing that the lines to the bus have formed:

Like, a crazy loooong line!!

After over an hour of waiting for the bus (I think it was almost 1.5 hours!), we were finally the last few to get on the bus.  We figured that maybe getting to the Atlantis building will give us a better view of the rocket launch? This better be worth it!

The Apollo 11 crew - from left to right: Michael Colllins, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin:

I feel so sorry for the first dude, Michael - I don't think many people even know he was on the trip!

Okay, we've all gathered and are waiting for the count-down.  Glad it's not too hot and humid:

Excited! This is our 2nd viewing of a rocket launch.  The first was a few years ago in CA and that was when Graham broke his collar bone.  So obviously, we told him not to do it again on this day :-P

Here goes!!

Wow, spectacular!!  And as you can tell from the video, we were clearly confused on which platform the rocket was going to launch from. LOL!

Lots of phone recordings, but we made sure the boys saw it with their own eyes too at some point!

Phew! After all that, we decided to go check out the Atlantis.  Wow, impressive!!

It's so much bigger than I expected!

I'm so glad we made this trip :-)

And... omg, waiting in another line to get back on to the bus!

Thankfully, this one took less than an hour.  But still... phew! I'm surprised Bobby was so patient. Ha!

I can't remember this building now that was along the way in the bus, but it's the next project and supposedly those doors to the building are the tallest ones!

I love how Charlie is taking selfies :-)

Okay, one more space shuttle - this one is Atlantis:

It's so cool to see it up close!

It really is amazing how HUGE these space shuttles are:

I think this one was a telescope?

Alrighty, time for some slide fun.  I chickened out. LOL!

Here's the video:

Time for one LAST line!  It's for a simulator ride.  Daddy is clearly not happy.  Ha ha!

Here goes!  We don't have much of an idea but somehow we are all a bit nervous.  It's suppose to simulate a rocket launch and we're in the rocket.  Look at Charlie's worried face. LOL!!

So okay, thankfully it wasn't as terrifying as the "ride we do not speak of" in Adventure Park in California.

Time for a treat.  This is the best churro ever!!

This was quite the trip!  We spent so many hours just waiting in line - but I guess, if anything, we had to visit the Kennedy Space Center at least once in our lifetime :-)

The next day, we head over to the little airport again for a quick lunch.  Yum!!

And then we head over to Bonnet Springs - it's used to be an old railway station.  Look at all the tracks!

And check out this overlay in white - that's what they've built in the lot.  Impressive!

Pretty cool alligator outdoor play structure:

It's a little bit warmer today so boys did not last too long outside.  They may have been a bit old for most of the activity, but they tried almost everything!  

Even Bobby participated.  I was impressed!

Ha, silly Charlie :-)

I think the boys are hoping they could get a bedroom like this.  Neat!

An attempt at Stop-Motion:

Here's Marilyn and I.  She was my host when I played on tour sooooo many years ago.  So glad we could catch up again!

We decided to something a little different for dinner:

Fried alligator (taste like chicken!) and a crab boil:

Unfortunately, the food was just so so.  We were entertained by all the birds that were flying about.  Just glad we didn't get pooped on:

There was a lovely sunset:

I'm obviously a terrible photographer, trying to capture the sunset behind us.  Ha ha!

Back in the room - and it's back to all the technology that we missed throughout the day:

Short but fun trip!

By the way, really liked Tampa airport.  Nice and big and not too busy.   So glad we were able to head out this way for Spring Break.  

Summer break is already coming up next week.  Not sure if we are going anywhere yet. I suppose to spontaneity makes everything more fun!

Spring break (March 2025) - Part I

I decided that we should visit Florida this past Spring Break.  Mostly to go visit a couple of people that I haven't seen in a long time.  I'm glad Bobby and the boys agreed!

Thankfully the flight was not too early in the morning.  That's by choice - always make sure it's not O-dark-thirty when we have to leave for the airport.  We managed to have one of our neighbors give us a ride with his car service too. One less thing to worry about!

Food court we-fie:

Or..... go to the lounge, now that Daddy has enough point with the airline.  Graham is happy with all-you-can-eat prosciutto!

Tampa!!

And that's a giant flamingo in the middle of the airport!!  Yes, I just HAD to take a selfie with it :-)

Trying to get some ideas/inspiration for a bottle drawing:

Tallest escalator ever!!

We get the rental car and then within about 30 minutes, we are stuck in traffic!  So, we decided to pull out and took a nearby exit to ... I think it was called Midtown?

Just happy we are getting some yummy food in our belly. And yummy dessert too!

More inspirations:

The next day, we are looking for more food for brunch:

Found some ramen and pork belly buns.  YUM!! Charlie is happy, for sure:

Pretty neat place called the Joinery. It's almost like The Hanger in Long Beach, CA - where you have several vendors under one roof.  This was a good find!

And then we are off to the baseball game.  Spring training for Detroit Tigers - last game!

SOOOO many teams that do their Spring Training in Florida. Yikes!

Pretty good seats! :-)

We're off to visit my friend Bill.  We met quite a long time ago when I first started out on tour.  He was a starter working at the golf course that we played at and he ended up being my caddy. It's good to see him after almost 20 years!

And yes, that's his cane - and no, I didn't really hit him with it ;-P  And yes, Graham is up in the tree!

We spent a few lovely afternoons under the big tree.  Here's his wife Sandy.  So good to see her again too!

They are not far from the Florida Southern College. And who knew there are Frank Lloyd Wright works around here!

Most definitely FLW:

When we got back to the hotel, it's pool time for the boys.  They sure know how to have a good time!

Here's how I drew up my bottle for Bill and Sandy:

Notice the birds and the big leaf? I thought the golf cart turned out quite nicely too :-)

Has Charlie become a mid-westerner?? He's wearing socks with his flip flops! I'm guessing that's a big no-no in FL. LOL!!

We are staying near a small airport.  And there's a new restaurant.  We popped by and there's these Japanese wraps - don't remember what they are called now, but they were yummy!

Pretty good view of the planes going in and out:

Back in the room... and back on their phone. Sheesh!

Heading back to Bill's but before that, we go out and look for gators.  Ha ha!

Lovely park for a lovely walk:

Okay! Maybe we will find some here!

We didn't actually find any along this path, but we drove towards the lake and found some there!

It's a bit tricky to see the gator, but trust me - it's there!

We picked up some sorbet from the Publix supermarket. And yes, it really is YUMMY :-)

Graham is back up on his favorite tree at Bill's house:

Alright, dinner time. Cool mural!

These were quite some yummy pizza here. They used Focaccia bread instead of pizza dough:

And as if that wasn't enough, we decided to go out for some Japanese dessert:

Charlie has ice cream with a fish waffle, and we also order a crepe with strawberries and creme:

We were going to order something else but they refused because they were closed even before actual closing time. Wait, what?!?

And so, being dissatisfied with that, we decided to hit a custard spot around the corner:

Okay, we definitely have our fill of calories and sugar today!

To be continued...