Space, Kayak, Orca, Manatee and Mickey Mouse

“Cocoa Beach was the resort town for all the Low Rent folk who couldn’t afford the beach towns farther south. Cocoa Beach was so Low Rent that nothing on this earth could ever change it…Even the beach at Cocoa Beach was Low Rent. It was about three hundred feet wide at high tide and hard as a brick. … At night some sort of prehistoric chiggers or fire ants – it was hard to say, since you could never see them – rose up from out of the sand and the palmetto grass and went for the ankles with a bite more vicious than a mink’s. there was no such thing as “first-class accommodation” or “red-carpet treatment” in Cocoa Beach. The red carpet, had anyone ever tried to lay one down, would have been devoured in midair by the No See’um bugs, as they were called, before it ever touched the implacable hardcracker ground. And that was one reason why the boys loved it! Even Glenn, John Glenn...” (Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff, 1980)

That was also one reason why we chose Cocoa Beach - in the area now called Space Coast - as our basecamp for this two weeks holiday in Florida, USA. If it was good for the Mercury astronaut like Alan Shepard, John Glenn, and the rest... then it should be good for us!

Wednesday, 3^rd July 2013

We arrived at Sanford Airport about one in the afternnon, went to the car rental Alamo. Friendly salesman Alex assisted us to upgrade to bigger car for $29 a day. We went out to the parking lot and a staff told us to choose. We choose Chevy (Chevrolet) Impala, four doors. It’s bigger than our car at home, and it’s all so automatic and hi-tech! On the way to the condo we rented, I found out that the roof can be open! I know it sounds silly, but I’ve never been in a car so modern…

Before the trip I booked the accommodation through a website called VRBO (vacation rentals by owner). It’s a ground floor ocean view two bedroom two bathroom condo in Cocoa Beach.

We arrived tired and hungry (because we only realised on the aeroplane that they only served main meal, the snacks in between are horribly expensive!). So Andy and I went to the nearest WalMart, and bought snacks, beers, etc. We went for dinner in Sonny’s diners where I had mac n cheese and fried okra (my new favourite snacks!)

Thursday, 4^th July 2013

It’s American Independence Day! Everyone we met said, “Happy fourth!” and we caught up with the spirit…

Andy and I started the day with sunrise walk on the beach. As Cocoa Beach is on the East coast of Florida, we watched the beautiful sunrise at 6:30am. We had toasts for breakfast and then a long drive to Kissimmee area to collect tickets for SeaWorld and Kennedy Space Centre. The free satellite navigation app was very useful! We then had a drive to Merritt Island’s Manatee Cove. It looked very nice to kayak around the river there, but apparently we had to book in advance. So we pencil this for another day.

We had lunch at a riverside place (I never know when a place is a restaurant or café or diners!) called “The Island Waterfront Bar and Grill”. Another new meal to try to cook at home: fish taco! Hmmmm

Part of the 4^th of July tradition – as I learned from books and films – is the fireworks. Jack did a good online research and found a place where there would be concert by Brevard Symphony Orchestra and fireworks on the riverfront. It’s in Cocoa Village’s Riverfront Park. The website said, “come early”. We arrived two hours before and the park was already full of families on their blankets and chairs, but we managed to get a good place to sit. Though we could barely heard the orchestra, we did hear and stand for the Star Spangled Banner. I admire the American nationalism where they all stood solemnly, some with hands on their chest, singing along to the national anthem. We don’t have this patriotic attitude in Britain, we don’t even have any national day when we could proudly fly the Union Jack.

As expected, the fireworks on the riverfront was SPECTACULAR! I have no word to describe it, you just have to be there to experience this.

Friday, 5^th July 2013

Kennedy Space Centre…!!!

We started with the bus tour passed the vehicle assembly building (VAB), then stopped at the observation tower overseeing Launch Pad 39A and 39B, and stopped at the Saturn/Apollo exhibition hall. One of the many things to see at the Apollo hall was a wall full of newspaper headlines from all over the world featuring Armstrong and Aldrin's land on the Moon in 1969, and guess what, an Indonesian newspaper Merdeka was there....!

 

Atlantis, the new exhibition featuring the retired space shuttle Atlantis.

The rocket garden features Mercury capsule as well as the latest Orion...

There are much more memories from this visit that words fail to describe. I was almost in tears watching some films about the early space exporations from Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, to the latest Space Shuttle. I don't think any of the modern sophisticated computerised system can ever replace the human spirit of exploration and the bravery of the first astronauts. As Tom Wolfe rightly described, it took "the right stuff" to wear those historical NASA badges...

Saturday, 6^th July 2013

Even though yesterday was a full space day, we were not finished with manned space travel history yet. With Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff” in my head, we visited the Astronaut Hall of Fame. I guess it’s very good for me who almost remember every single detail about Alan Shepard, John Glenn and the other Mercury astronauts. It might not be as exciting for the boys. I have Andy and Jack to thank for putting up with my ‘pilgrimage’ to the early space exploration….

As the hall of fame in Titusville not open until 12 that day, we detoured to Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge visitor centre to gather information about the area. A day walking with nature is planned….

We were going to see what’s on Cocoa Beach pier, but as it was Saturday and a 4^th July weekend, there was no place to park the rented car. So instead we went back to our condo and walked to the beach in front.

We had dinner at Sunset bar and grill, where as its name, it’s a good place to see the sun setting, facing the Banana River…

Sunday, 7^th July 2013

A sunrise walk on the beach, up north to Cocoa Beach pier. It was 3 miles away from our condo. We had coffee at the pier where some people went fishing. A guy caught a big king fish.

We walked into Ron Jon Surf shop that opens 24 hours. Imagine working there as a shop attendance at three in the morning… who would come and shop? We had breakfast at “IHOP”, International House of Pancake. The waitress called Andy ‘young man’ and called me ‘young lady’. I think she was rather impressed with Andy’s British accent that she gave him extra hash brown potato 😉

After our long morning walk, we had a chill out day on the beach. It was HOT HOT HOT…! I think I got more tan in a day here than a full year back in the UK.

Whilst on the beach, a small aeroplane flying pass towing banner advertising special menu on a bar/grill restaurant.

We had dinner at a place called “Slow & Low Barbeque”.

The food was delicious, the beer was good (I had Hawaiian beer Big Wave), and the waitress was very friendly and helpful. She told us all the choices of dips and sides in a very fast American accent. I really enjoy listening to the American accent around here, and even more because most people talked with friendly smiles! I did not miss the miserable British attitude (and weather) at all…!

Monday 8^th July 2013 – SeaWorld, Orlando

The highlight was the Shamu show! Shamu is the famous name for SeaWorld’s main orca or killer whale. According to Wikipedia, the original Shamu died in 1971, but the tradition continue: main star of the show is always named Shamu. What really impressed me was at the beginning of the show, the master ceremony dedicated the show to all servicemen and women and invited all US, Canadian and British military and veterans to stand up as the stadium filled with applause.

The dolphin show was spectacular. Actors ‘flying’ around on harness and wires, riding the dolphins, and also colourful tropical birds.

Then there’s the sea lion and the walrus show….

We also tried the Manta, Kraken, and Atlantis rides. To overcome my fear of the roller coasters, I imagined being a passenger on one of the Red Arrow Hawks and guessing the gravity force that we’re experiencing.

SeaWorld has a silly policy of not allowing any food or drink from outside into the park. Our bags were searched at the gate. Good job Andy read the whole ‘no food’ sign and said one word to the staff who looked into our bags, “Gluten.” The staff gave us a sigh and let us walked in with sandwiches, bottles of cold water, banana and crisps. Apparently there was some exceptions such as baby food, special food for allergies of medical conditions, and gluten-free. Though our sandwiches were not gluten-free, Andy did not lie by saying “gluten”. Indeed he was very correct, our lunches were full of gluten!

It was a long day at SeaWorld, with the one and a half hours drive back to the Space Coast area where we stayed, we were tired and hungry. We decided to find a restaurant nearer to Cocoa Beach and went to Cocoa Village, about 15 minutes from where we stayed. We found this gorgeous Thai and Japanese restaurant called “Thai Thai Cocoa Village”. The waiter who served us was very friendly, chatty and American. He was from Thailand and said that his wife is Indonesian, but what amazed us is the pursue of the American dream in him. There was big pride when he said, “I am American.” I wish British of all origin could say the same thing with pride, “I am British!”

Tuesday 9^th July 2013

As our condo is not too far from Patrick Air Force Base - and Patrick AFB was mentioned several times in the history of the first Mercury Astronauts by Tom Wolfe - there is no excuse not to check it out. I was hoping to see some fighters or any exciting military aircrafts. So Andy and I had a drive south. We passed the base – it was a big complex! But all we saw was three Lockheed C-130 Hercules. And there was no place to park the car and watch the runway – there was no sign of flight activity anyway.

We drove further to Melbourne village, found a public park, Wickham Park. It was impressive how such public leisure facility was equipped with barbeque facilities, even a stone oven to heat pizza! We could only imagine how wonderful it should be to have family barbeque weekend at a park like this….

The park has lakes, camping ground and toilet facilities, and some hiking trails. We went for a walk (or hiking in American term)…

With Mac the Macaque of course...

Next was a chill out afternoon, beach, lots of reading and looking at photos from SeaWorld and Wickham Park…

Wednesday, 10^th July 2013

A walk on the wildside....! Andy and I visited Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge

Start with watching manatees at the Bairs Cove, we learned from volunteers some interesting facts about the 'sea cows'. They are closer relatives to elephants than to other sea mammals, their teeth are all mollars and keep on growing new teeth. Fancy never need go to dentist and brush your teeth...!

Walk on the Scrub Fire Trail was probably the huglight of today's trip. Scrub jays nest here and there was one that was very friendly – or shall I say: obsessed with hats? (Or maybe just defending its nest)

This one flew onto Andy’s hat and posed for a long while, letting me snapped pictures from very very near. Then I put on the hat and this scrub jay flew onto my hat! Andy was very sure that this one bird was trained by Florida tourism board…!

We went to the visitor information centre and took the ¼ mile boardwalk. I finally saw a real life hummingbird. I did hear and read about this amazing bird since I was a child, I even wrote an article about humminbird and the principle of helicopters' rotary wing. Seeing the real life one was sooo amazing!

We continued the day with the seven miles Black Point wildlife drive 

We then drove to the beach (Playalinda Beach on the Canaveral Coastline), had a rest in the hot sun and called it a day.

Thursday, 11^th July 2013 -  Disney World Magic Kingdom

Full day of childhood dreams ended with fireworks in front of the signature castle….

Friday, 12^th July 2013

After 16 hours in Disney World yesterday, we slept until late. I still felt giddy of all the excitement Afternoon of rain. At least the tropical storm Chantal did come full power…. We had a late breakfast at the International House of Pancake – I had the blueberry pancake and it was gorgeous!

In the evening we went for dinner at the “Slow n Low barbeque” again. There was live music.

The dessert of peanut butter pie was delicious! Just as recommended by our friend/waitress Nicole.

Saturday, 13^th July 2013

A drive to Melbourne Beach. It was a nice beach with calmer water. But... big cloud came suddenly bringing rain and wind. We decided it's time to get lunch then back to our beach, Cocoa Beach, in front of our condo.

Dinner at the condo, we made grilled shrimps (prawns in UK term) and had them with rice, refried beans, salsa, and yogurt.

Sunday, 14^th July 2013

Andy and I had a morning sunrise walk on the beach. We made breakfast of banana and blueberry pancakes. Hmmm... they were too nice that I forgot to take picture.

Then it’s time for a plane spotting day! Andy and I drove to Merritt Island Airport. It’s a small airport for single engine training aircrafts, there’s a Twin Otter, and a biplane.

We then drove to Cocoa Village and had a walk around the nice village. It was like Totness in England – full of little independent shops and cafes, even a vegetarian organic café.

In the evening we went kayaking with Calypso Kayaking (www.calypsokayaking.com). We took the bioluminescent tour which started at 19:30. We started kayaking on Manatee’s Cove. Like its name, the water was full of manatees. Manatees – also known as sea cows – are herbivore or vegetarian sea mammal that could be as long as 10 feet and weigh up to 1,000 pounds. They don’t do much, just floating about – they need to stick their nose out of the water every five minutes while awake and every 15 to 20 minutes while asleep (http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/mammals/aquatic/manatee/).

The best thing for us is that because manatees have no natural predator, they are basically fearless and curious.

  So… while kayaking slowly in the cove, we could stop, splash our hands in the water and some curious manatees would pop their head out of the water looking at us. We can stroke their nose or back and they seemed to enjoy this. For me this was the highlight of the kayaking experience: looking eye to eye to a manatee, stroking its nose and watching it closed its eyes like a dog enjoying a good stroke on the head. The best thing is that they came to us, not like in a zoo or seaworld where we pay a fortune to touch animals in cages.

We then set off kayaking with our tour guide Phill Galloway towards the Indian River. We saw dolphins and stopped on a little island waiting for the sun to set before setting off again to see the magical glow in the dark water. 

Watching the water glow as our oars touch the water with under water ‘fireworks’ or glowing trails of fish was like entering the scene of Disney’s 1993 Little Mermaid with the song “Kiss the Girl” playing.... 

To summarise, this is what I wrote for Calypso Kayaking's facebook review: We just came back from the magical bioluminescence tour and it was AWESOME...! First we had close encounter with Manatees... they were really gentle curious creature who love a good back rub or a gentle pat on their heads, just like dogs. As the sun set and the sky darkened, the water glow with "Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates". The scene was like Disney's Little Mermaid scen when the song Kiss the Girl playing... I enjoyed everything! Although i did scream when a big fish (mullet) jumped onto the kayak, almost on my lap! Thanks Phill..!


Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th July 2013

Not much to write here, except that we had beach days in sun and rain. Rain in Cocoa Beach was strange: it came out of nowhere and it stopped as quickly as it started. I don't mind this kind of rain, reminds me of the tropical storm Andy and I experienced in Weh Island (Pulau Weh), Aceh...

Sandcastle Condo

Tuesday 16th July was my mum's birthday. She is now 69-year-young!

Our last dinner was in ThaiThai Cocoa Village. It's got to be! We love Cocoa Village...!


Wednesday, 17th July 2013

Sadly, this is the day we say goodbye to Cocoa Beach, to the lovely condo that had become 'home' for us the last two weeks, to the A1A road that bear witness of the corvettes driven fast by the first astronauts in 1960s, to the Space Coast, to Florida and to USA. 

Although we left the condo with a rather sad and sinking feeling.... (for me it's coming back to the grim and messy social work world in the beaurocratic city council that made me dreading coming home to England). I got one more treat: the sigh of Boeing 787 Dreamliner taxing at Sanford Airport...! To be precise, it was Thomson's Boeing 787-8 with tail number G-TUIC. 

Florida is now behind us, but the memory is in our hearts forever.... Maybe one day we can move there and work as tour guides for Kennedy Space Centre? Andy said he does not mind working as the bus driver talking about all the history and facts to tourists (and I think his British accent will be a good attraction on its own haha..!). And if there's no journalim or social work jobs there for me? I don't mind working in anywhere in Kennedy Space Centre or Disney World.... Hahahaha.... 

For more pictures from Florida, visit my flickr photo stream with photos from Cocoa Beach and Village, Kennedy Space Centre, SeaWorld, Disney World Magic Kingdom, and Merritt Island nature

Deers, Camping, Puffins and RAF’s Hawk

Growing up amid the concrete walls of Jakarta, I have always craved for a walk on a green hill like the opening scene of Little House on the Prairie or Sound of Music. Now as an Indonesian expat in Manchester, I found my picture perfect hills in the Peak District, just 40 minutes drive. The bad news is, the weather does not always permit.

Lyme Park Saturday morning. Red deer and fallow deer grazing on the moorland, then a herd of Scottish White Cross cattle came curiously so close watching us human taking a walk.


Owned and managed by the National Trust, the 566 hectares (1,400 acres) Lyme Park was originally part of the Tudor house Lyme Hall. For those who followed BBC's adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Lyme was 'Pemberley'. The back garden of Lyme Hall was the set where Mr.Darcy, played by Collin Firth, took off his clothes and dive into the pond.

There is something about Lyme Park that makes it my favourite getaway. The fact that my first date with my partner took place there was not the only reason. Lyme Park has many faces. In summer, we can sunbathe and have a picnic and sometimes watch the Morris Dancers skipping around. In winter, walking past the snow covered Lyme Hall and The Cage – an early 18th-century hunting tower – made it looks like a different world of winter wonderland.

Last Saturday the day was perfect until heaven opened and rain pissing on everyone. Yet they call this Global Warming?

For longer holiday such as the school half-term break last month, camping was a nice gamble. We booked our six days leave from work months before. We had all our camping gears ready. Then on D-day we read that the weather was going to be rainy.

Well, we decided to go anyway, hoping that Shell Island in Llanbedr, Wales, would be different than the rest of the country. At least we had three days of sun. Having Indonesian upbringing, I said to my English partner, “Three days sun and two nights rain is still better than no sun at all.”

Shell Island is famous for the many different shells on the beach, wild birds, fishing and panoramic views of Cardigan Bay and Snowdonia mountain range. Its 121.41 hectares (300 acres) camping area makes it the biggest campsite in the UK and the biggest tenting site in Europe. Having only a tent license, the site does not accept caravans or campervans unless they have a tent for sleeping purposes.

On arrival at the reception office, we paid our admission: £6 per night for adult, £2.50 for children and £1.50 for dogs. The receptionist said we can pitch our tents anywhere as long as it’s within 20 yards or more from other tents. As we left reception, we saw signs saying, “For family/couple only. No groups/lads” and “No radio/music after 11pm”. Perfect!

For pitching tents, there are choices of sand dunes, woodland or near the harbour. We picked a spot near the sand dunes. Five minutes walk from our tents, there are the main toilet and shower block. The warm shower washed away my memory of counting one two three before pouring cold water in Cibodas National Park. There are three washing basin for washing dishes, also with warm water from the tap.

Not having any kites, boomerang, nor ball to play, I had expected my son to be whiny and bored. Amazingly he did not. The minute we finished building our tents, he disappeared into the sand dunes with his new found friends. I found out later from him that there is another fun family activity: crab fishing or crabbing.

Unlike Indonesians, British people do not eat crabs or fish that they caught. Going crabbing means catching as many crab as you can, collect them in your little bucket – which conveniently can be bought in the camp store along with crab lines and even baits – then you let them go. No crab was injured during the process.

There are many other activities in Shell Island. If you go boating, there are a chance that you can see dolphins and porpoises. Kite-surfing on the beach looks challenging, and of course shell collecting.

In a grey cloudy day when sunbathing on the beach was out of the question, a visit to Harlech Castle, 15 minutes drive from the campsite, was a good alternative. The admission charge of £3.50 for adults and £3.00 for children and students is worth the expense. Picturesque view of the coastline framed by the rear gate is superb.




Built by King Edward I in late 13th century, Harlech Castle was never been used as a dwelling for royalties. Located atop a cliff close to the Irish Sea and overlooking Snowdonia Mountain, it was meant to be a statement of conquest over Wales. Ironically, in 1404 it was taken by Welsh leader Owain Glyn Dwr who proceeded to hold a parliament here. Its seven-year siege and the Wars of the Roses inspired the song 'Men of Harlech'.

Walking inside and around the ruins of Harlech Castle reminded me of Sean Connery and Richard Gere in First Knight. In fact, some scene of the 1995 film was filmed in Harlech and the nearby Llanfair Slate Mine.

Driving further North from Harlech, we visited Portmeirion on a peninsula off the coast of Snowdonia. The Italianate village was built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis from 1925 to 1975, based on his memory of an Italian town Portofino.

The resort village is mostly famous for being the set for TV series The Prisoner, starred Patrick McGoohan. The character played by McGoohan, known only as “No. 6”, was held in a strange fantasy setting, called “The Village”. The classic 60s TV series becomes such a cult that until today fans have annual Prisoner Convention in which celebrity guests attend events and share their admiration on the series and its location.

Before heading back to Manchester, we took a detour to Anglesey Island. Two things I insisted to see before the end of our holiday: to see Hawks and puffins.


RAF Valley where world famous aerobatic The Red Arrow is routinely training is base for No 4 Flying Training School, which operates 71 Hawk T1/T1A aircraft, not much different than Indonesian Air Force’ Hawks. We parked outside the fence at the end of the runway. Just as we sat down on a rock with the runway in front and beach behind us, we heard a thundering sound of two Hawks approaching for landing. It was perfect for an anorak like me.


To see puffins, I mean the real birds (Fratercula arctica) not plane, we drove further West past Hollyhead to South Stack Cliff, a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) reserve. The cute clown-like birds nest in spring and early summer.

We hired a binocular from RSPB visitor centre, and walked to the cliffs. It was the best reality show I’ve ever seen! I fell in love with their comedy red beaks and big red feet, swimming speed and fidelity. Puffins mate for life. They lay a single egg in spring. Both parents incubate it for 36-45 days, and they share feeding duties until the chick is ready to fledge. I also found their ‘billing’ gestures – brushing each other’s beak – like human kissing.