Stand Up Paddling

Playing in the Wake of Hurricane Irene - Cocoa Beach, Florida

Oooogly Building

No wonder this place is for sale. It is butt-ugly! I think they might have a tough time finding a buyer. I can see where the space industry in Cocoa Beach influenced the design.

Cocoa Beach Real Estate

Skywatch Friday - More from the Beach

I couldn't decide which one to post, so you get them both! These are from our recent trip to Cocoa Beach, Florida. I love the beach at sunrise.

Cocoa Beach, Florida

Why be satisfied with watching TV when there are awesome skies being shared through the Skywatch meme each week? Klaus, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Sylvia are the team behind Skywatch Friday. Go visit by clicking on the banner above.

World Bird Wednesday - Black Skimmers

Our attentions were captured by a flock of birds one afternoon in Cocoa Beach, Florida. We saw them on a previous visit to the beach, clustered together on the sand near the surf line. When someone would walk by, they would fly up, circle around and land back where they started. We had to go investigate.

There we found not gulls but Black Skimmers. Their unique bills were what helped us identify them when we got home. These tern-like birds are the only species in the United States that has a larger lower mandible than upper mandible. The black skimmer drags it's lower bill through the water as it flies along, hoping to catch small fish.

Black Skimmer

I don't know why they all lined up facing the same direction on the beach. If you know the reason for this, let me know in the comments.

Attention!

Springman at the Pine River Review is the host each week of World Bird Wednesday. Come bird watching with us by clicking on the logo above! Hopefully I will do a better job visiting this week than last. Where does the time go so quickly?

Skywatch Friday - Fire in the Floridian Sky

After a stormy day last Monday in Cocoa Beach complete with a tornado watch and heavy downpours, our evening started with this spectacular sunset. Maybe facing the front hotel portico wasn't so bad after all. Our balcony gave us a great viewpoint for observing the blazes of orange and yellow fanning across the western horizon.

The downright awesome team of hosts - Klaus, Wren, Sylvia, Fishing Guy and Sandy - bring us Skywatchers together each week to share our shots of the sky. Come join us by clicking on the banner above.

Why Did the Egret Cross the Sidewalk?

To get to the other side, silly! Either that or he wanted to go check out Ron Jon's.

 Juvenile Great Egret

(from my Florida trip)

Weekend Reflections - Surfs Up

You've seen the t-shirts, now see the one of a kind flagship store.

Ron Jon Surf Shop - Cocoa Beach, Florida

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Skywatch Friday - Cocoa Beach Sunrise

Welcome to the Beach

Heading to Work

 

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Coastal Birding

I admit it. I have a lot to learn about photographing birds. Flighty little devils. But I gave it a couple of attempts while in Florida.

On the morning I watched the sunrise from the beach, I was entertained by pods of pelicans flying overhead, ready to begin their day. They would come in over the dunes and then glide low over the water, their wingtips almost touching.

Pelicans

Winging Across the Surf

Then on my way into the office, I pulled off the highway onto one of the access points along the Banana River. Fishermen were working on getting their day's catch. Another kind of fisherman, an osprey, was on the hunt for his breakfast.

Go Fish?

On the day I drove up to Kennedy Space Center, I passed a road that was marked as a birding trail. I'll put that on my list to do the next time I return.

Rinse Off Your Feet!

Returning from the Beach

On the Bucket List

Space flight has always been an interest to me. As a kid, I had the opportunity to visit the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. With the trip to Florida this past week, I was 10 miles from the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center with no time available to go visit. Talk about agony!

During my lunch break on one of the days, I took my rental car for a little spin to go get something to eat. Hmmm...it took me to the KSC Visitor Center first! I still didn't have time to stop and go in, but you can be sure on a future trip, it is on my agenda.

Shuttle External Fuel Tank with Solid Rocket Boosters Attached

Crossing the Banana River bridge from Cocoa Beach to Merritt Island, you can see NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). According to Wikipedia, the VAB is the largest single story building and fourth largest building by volume in the world. It is here where the space shuttle and external fuel tanks are mated together before the shuttle is moved to the launch pad. All I know is that is was a large building and I wasn't all that close from where I could see it.

NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building

Mellow Yellow Monday - Cruisin' from Canaveral

Heading east from the Orlando area, you go through Port Canaveral to get to Cocoa Beach. Port Canaveral is the homeport for Disney, Carnival, Royal Carribean and Norwegian cruise lines.

When I first came into town, it was early evening and a big behemoth was docked and all lit up. Not being familiar with the area, I was not willing to pull over and try to take a picture. I thought, no problem, I'll try to do it next morning on the way to work.

Just goes to show what I know about cruising. That boat had sailed by the next morning.

The day after that, I scored. I was heading to the office and lo and behold, not one but two giants were docked. I found a place to park and starting snapping away.

Looking Across the Water

Carnival Sensation's Yellow Slide

Disney Wonder's Yellow Life Boats

Disney Smoke Stacks

If those cruise ships just arrived in port, that meant people were disembarking. Lots of people. Two ships worth of people. And those people probably needed to go to the airport and catch flights to back home.

Yes, that is what it meant. The airport in Orlando was crazy later that afternoon. Note to self: do not book travel out of Orlando on days cruise ships return to port.

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I Dream of Jeannie

This past week, I traveled to Florida on business and stayed in Cocoa Beach. If you were growing up in the 60's, one of the shows on TV was "I Dream of Jeannie", starring Barbara Eden as Jeannie, the genie, and Larry Hagman as Major Nelson, an astronaut who finds her bottle and subsequently becomes her master. Major Nelson worked at Cape Kennedy and lived in Cocoa Beach.


In July 1996, the town of Cocoa Beach presented Barbara Eden with a street sign - "I Dream of Jeannie Lane". It was later installed on a short street off A1A.

Once I saw there was a street with this name, I had to go find it. Luckily it was not too far from my hotel.


While Cocoa Beach may have been the setting the Nelson home, many of the shots in the TV show had hills nearby. If you've ever been to Cocoa Beach, about the highest point is a bridge over the water. It is flat as a pancake. The house used in filming was actually at the Columbia Ranch site in California and those hills were the Hollywood Hills. Click on the link for the ranch to see more information on the house. Not only was it home to Major Nelson, it was also the home of Mr. Wilson from "Dennis the Menace", and the Andersons from "Father Knows Best", just to name a few.

I'll have more pictures from the Cocoa Beach area this week.