braving the shark-infested waters
Dad braving the sunshine (and getting burned)
my car braving the sand
dad's new profession
our manatee at Space View Park in TitusvilleWell, my dad and I started off the day pretty early. He made us some sausage omelettes for sustenance for the long day ahead. Before we left for New Smyrna Beach, which is about an hour and a half north, we checked the NASA website one last time... the launch was still scheduled for 9:20 pm today. We were so excited because the launch had been rescheduled at least 3 times prior to today. So we drove to New Smyrna. I wanted to go here because it is the "Sharkbite Capital of the World."
There have been more shark attacks at this beach than any other beach in the world for the past few years. I guess the currents and the way the coastline is formed brings in a lot of bait fish. Also a migration route for black-tip sharks goes right past the beach (probably because of the bait fish). Sharks that jump completely out of the water are also commonly seen here by surfers and photographers. So of course, my dad and I wanted to see if we could see some sharks too! And we did! We also saw surfers, boogie boarders, and children playing in the water... hmmm. We did have to use my binoculars to see the sharks though. My dad saw what he is pretty sure was a shark swimming within a wave. I have seen pictures like this before, so I believe him. We thought we saw a few black shark fins flash by, but we are not sure. The water was choppy, and your eyes can play tricks on you. I am 98% sure though that I saw one. I saw a triangular thick dorsal fin and a long straight gray back coast across the top of the water and then disappear. It did not move like a dolphin (and we never saw any other dolphins), so I am saying that I saw a shark! I did also see a giant fish jump into the air. It would have been cool to see one of those jumping sharks!
The beach was really nice. The sand is packed so hard that we drove my car out onto the beach. We were there a few hours enjoying the sunshine and watching for sharks.
After the beach, we headed for our target destination, Space View Park in Titusville, FL. This is where we planned to watch the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The park is directly across the water from Kennedy Space Center. We got there very early, around 4:30 pm. Before we got out of the car I called my mom to check the Internet to see if the shuttle was still on schedule. She called back with bad news, the launch had been cancelled and rescheduled for the next day. As the story goes, the engineers found a hydrogen gas leak minutes prior to when they were going to move the shuttle to the launchpad! We were really, really disappointed because my dad was supposed to go home tomorrow, and he stayed here these past few days just to see the launch. We stayed and looked around the park and gave other people the bad news. It seemed everyone else was finding out from family and friends about the same time that we did. Anyways, the park had a nice pier AND manatees swimming around it! We also saw stingrays swimming and a glimpse of a dolphin out away from the pier. The manatees were so cute and the best that we have seen yet! My dad and I sat on the dock right above one. It was a really big manatee and he would stick his nose up to breathe right underneath us! A few times, he took a few breaths in a row, and we got such a great look at him. I have heard that manatees are curious, so I think he was looking at us and/or my toes above him! He was so cute, and I fell in love with manatees all over again!
When we got home later, I checked the Internet again and it seems the launch is rescheduled again. The launch date is now scheduled as "no earlier than March 15th at 7:43pm." My dad and I were so disappointed because we already had our day planned tomorrow. It seems that since he is so close, my dad is going to stay until Sunday and hopefully we will see this stupid thing take off! I had really wanted to see a night launch because those are supposed to be the best... and now it will be a sunset launch, so we will see. Everyone cross your fingers for us and for NASA to launch this shuttle on Sunday!
There have been more shark attacks at this beach than any other beach in the world for the past few years. I guess the currents and the way the coastline is formed brings in a lot of bait fish. Also a migration route for black-tip sharks goes right past the beach (probably because of the bait fish). Sharks that jump completely out of the water are also commonly seen here by surfers and photographers. So of course, my dad and I wanted to see if we could see some sharks too! And we did! We also saw surfers, boogie boarders, and children playing in the water... hmmm. We did have to use my binoculars to see the sharks though. My dad saw what he is pretty sure was a shark swimming within a wave. I have seen pictures like this before, so I believe him. We thought we saw a few black shark fins flash by, but we are not sure. The water was choppy, and your eyes can play tricks on you. I am 98% sure though that I saw one. I saw a triangular thick dorsal fin and a long straight gray back coast across the top of the water and then disappear. It did not move like a dolphin (and we never saw any other dolphins), so I am saying that I saw a shark! I did also see a giant fish jump into the air. It would have been cool to see one of those jumping sharks!
The beach was really nice. The sand is packed so hard that we drove my car out onto the beach. We were there a few hours enjoying the sunshine and watching for sharks.
After the beach, we headed for our target destination, Space View Park in Titusville, FL. This is where we planned to watch the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The park is directly across the water from Kennedy Space Center. We got there very early, around 4:30 pm. Before we got out of the car I called my mom to check the Internet to see if the shuttle was still on schedule. She called back with bad news, the launch had been cancelled and rescheduled for the next day. As the story goes, the engineers found a hydrogen gas leak minutes prior to when they were going to move the shuttle to the launchpad! We were really, really disappointed because my dad was supposed to go home tomorrow, and he stayed here these past few days just to see the launch. We stayed and looked around the park and gave other people the bad news. It seemed everyone else was finding out from family and friends about the same time that we did. Anyways, the park had a nice pier AND manatees swimming around it! We also saw stingrays swimming and a glimpse of a dolphin out away from the pier. The manatees were so cute and the best that we have seen yet! My dad and I sat on the dock right above one. It was a really big manatee and he would stick his nose up to breathe right underneath us! A few times, he took a few breaths in a row, and we got such a great look at him. I have heard that manatees are curious, so I think he was looking at us and/or my toes above him! He was so cute, and I fell in love with manatees all over again!
When we got home later, I checked the Internet again and it seems the launch is rescheduled again. The launch date is now scheduled as "no earlier than March 15th at 7:43pm." My dad and I were so disappointed because we already had our day planned tomorrow. It seems that since he is so close, my dad is going to stay until Sunday and hopefully we will see this stupid thing take off! I had really wanted to see a night launch because those are supposed to be the best... and now it will be a sunset launch, so we will see. Everyone cross your fingers for us and for NASA to launch this shuttle on Sunday!
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