Sun, Space and a Sea Kayak

If there's one thing we've learned during the pandemic, it's this:

Florida will never turn us away. 

Chris and I were fully vaccinated by the time Spring Break rolled around. But we would have gone even if we hadn't been. We've been cooped up for too long. So, for the second time in less than a year, we got on a plane to Florida for a little sun. 

Kennedy Space center was pretty amazing. After visiting Johnson Space canter a couple years ago, we had to complete the spacey tour of the country. 

This is the space shuttle Atlantis. It lives in a big building on the space center campus. It's pretty cool.

The hours were shortened due to covid, but we saw most of what we wanted to see. And we had plenty of time after closing to visit Cocoa Beach. 

The next day, we engaged in a bit of kayaking.

When we decided to reserve a kayaking adventure, I had visions of paddling alongside a friendly manatee. Someone in our group caught a glimpse of one of the mythical creatures.  But the closest we got were some manatee bubbles. They were pretty amazing bubbles. We did see a couple dolphins. That was a nice consolation prize. 

And then, because we couldn't not, we drove across the peninsula to the Gulf of Mexico. Because Clearwater is amazing and we had to spend some time there. 

Also because Winter the Dolphin lives there. Winter isn't looking too lively these days so I'm really glad Jane got to see her one more time. 

I'm really glad that Florida won't turn us away. The girls are getting older and I don't know how many more family vacations are left in the hopper. We try to be careful, but we also refuse to let these years be stolen by a pandemic. 

Thanks, Florida. We'll be back.