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Ok, so the pic isn’t much, BUUUUUT…I have always wanted to see a rocket / shuttle launch. Tonight, we just so happen to be in Melbourne, FL and there was a ULA Launch! To be completely honest, I am hoping to see the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch before we leave Florida. The Falcon Heavy test fire is supposed to happen tomorrow, but there is not yet a date scheduled for the launch. Anyway, watching the ULA launch tonight was amazing! Here is a link to the ULA launch site: ULA Launch

I set a timer before dinner so we could watch the YouTube feed and then go out watch the launch. I setup the camera (even though I didn’t expect it to take any sort of reasonable picture) and we all went out with binoculars to see it. We watched as it climbed across the sky and disappeared to the East. The only disappointment was that we couldn’t hear any sound.

Tonight was definitely a special event for me. I remember seeing my first space shuttle when I was three, only took me me 33 more years to see a space launch.

I’m sure that soon enough Cair will post some great pics of me and the kids freezing to death on the beach today, so…I’ll let you go for now and you can look forward to more of her great posts and pics!

~Drew

We got settled in a new campsite – here’s the view from the back of our camper 🌅

We spent the afternoon kayaking & exploring the mangrove covered shoreline of Biscayne Bay.

We also tried to spot some manatees out in the sea grass of the bay but the water was too murky today

Also stopped for some more park play-time after lunch

It was a gorgeous day for our airboat ride & visit to the alligator farm.

The Everglades National Park is a vast park of marshes, estuaries, and mangroves. It is the only place where alligators & crocodiles are both native.

More info on the Park

We also got some time this afternoon to play at a local park & then stop at the visitors center to finish-up another Junior Ranger badge.

Yesterday was a bit too cloudy & windy for our airboat ride in the Everglades. So today we took a quick drive into the Biscayne National Park.

This park protects the marine life of the coral reef & is 95% water.

More info on the park

We toured the visitors center then finish up our Junior Ranger activities. We stopped to play in the sand & made some friends from France vacationing here for a few weeks.

We are going to try again to do the airboat ride tomorrow then maybe do some kayaking in the Biscayne Bay on Wed.

Got a lil morning swim before we load up & head out of the Keys

We finally made it to our first National Park of the trip…and what a cool one to start with!

The islands were originally named Las Tortugas (The Turtles) by Ponce de Leon due to the many sea turtles he found there when he discovered the islands. The “Dry” was added later to warn maritime travelers that there is no fresh watch on the islands.

Read for more info on the Park

Taking the pledge for another Junior Ranger badge

With kiddos continuing to recover, our first day in the Keys began with some catch-up on school work, and cleaning / laundry. After some good naps, we enjoyed a nice afternoon on the beach & kayaking in the ocean.

After we watch the sunset from the beach, we picked some fresh fish at the market to grill for dinner.

We’ve been camping in the secluded Big Cypress National Preserve just north of the Everglades.

Our original plan was to tour the Everglades from here, however the flu had other ideas. It hit me first, then Madi, followed promptly by Jamon. Drew had a bit of a tummy bug in the first few days but fortunately, has fought off the worst of it thus far. We took this as a sign that we needed a bit of R&R to start our adventure. 😴

We did get to see lot of alligators in and around the lake in our campground. Great opportunity to reinforce with the kids that we respect all creatures & their habitats.

Everyone seems to be on the mend now & we are headed down to the keys today. Ferry ride out to the Dry Tortugas is scheduled for Friday.

Two long days of driving & we are finally getting to warmer temperatures & making our way down into Florida.

Jsky & I are both fighting a bit of a cold/cough, and everyone is feeling a lil worn. We have a shorter day tomorrow then we will be camping in the northern Everglades for a few days. I think everyone is looking forward to taking in the natural spaces & relaxing for awhile.