Cocoa Beach - Orientation and Initiation

Since arriving in Cocoa Beach on Friday, we have been orienting ourselves to the area. We spent our first evening with our friends Jimmy and Judi Kirkpatrick who live here 1/2 the year in Melbourne - just south of here. It was Jimmy who helped us locate the RV Space Coast campground where we are staying for the next month.

We spent most of Saturday and Sunday cleaning up the RV and Jeep after traveling for a week from the north. John cleaned the Jeep up so beautiful that he drew a crowd - like crows drawn to a shiny object! He took out the windows and we are now on the search for a place to buy a bikini top (just to be clear - the top is for the Jeep)!

Yesterday, we started to explore the area and drove over the intercoastal Pineda causeway to Merritt Island past Patrick Air Force Base and out to the ocean. We stopped at one of the many boardwalks and walked out to the beach. The tide was out so the sand was great for a lond walk. We also noticed the many signs that cautioned about the rip tide. This time of year, there were not many swimmers anyway. Alas, my (old) lifeguard skills were not tested!

On our way back, we managed to find a wee beachside tiki-type bar called the Conch House. There were about 15-20 motorcycles in the parking lot. We had one of their scallop 'appies' for a treat and they were absolutely great! At the tiki-bar, John was sure he recognized a guy (wearing a Sturgis 2006 Harley t-shirt). John shared his memory of being in Florida in 1965 and two things immediately happened:

1. one gal said, "1965! Holy CRAP! That's when I was born!"; and,

2. the guy in the Sturgis shirt quietly added that he was only 10 in 1965.

It wasn't long after that we left.

More next week after we've been to the Daytona 500 Nascar race. Our friends from Kingston, Dan and Anne Farley, are flying in today and will be with us over the next week. We are headed to the race Saturday. It's the 50th anniversary so it should be quite an experience.