During our travels in Florida in 2017 we heard there was going to be a SpaceX rocket launch while we were in the area, so we positioned ourselves to be close to the launch pad on December 11th 2017. We made reservations at Manatee Hammock County Park which was right across the Indian river from the launch site. We settled in and took a walk to the fishing dock which would provide a great view, and to our disappointment it was roped off from entering. Crews were still cleaning up from hurricane Irma so it was a no go to enter the pier and the surrounding area.
Well, the next morning NASA called off the launch due to the cold weather so we packed up and moved on. For the next 3 days we headed north up the coast to St. Augustine.
In St Augustine we went to a few Florida lighthouses which you can read about here. Also we went to Castillo de San Marcos, which we will blog about at some point.
We heard the launch was back on so we high tailed it back to the Manatee Hammock County Park and find another place to watch the launch from but to our delight the pier and shoreline were open.
So on December the 15th we walked to the pier with other space adventurers and witnessed in person the sites and sounds of pure power.
The most interesting part was when the rocket booster landed on its own minutes after take off.
It is great to see the space coast come alive again.
-M-
Scouting Destinations 