Since I had been test-riding a Kia Soul in Alien Green, we decided to drive it up to Florida's Space Coast on Saturday for a day trip. It seemed only fitting to take the "Alien" to the center of all things Space-related.
The Space Coast is on the eastern coast of Florida just 45-minutes drive from Orlando. It is home to many space-named landmarks as well as the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
We found a great little park called Space View Park located in Titusville. During NASA launches, people would go to this park, among many others, to view the launch from a safe distance. The park is directly across from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center.
The VAB is where NASA would assemble large space vehicles such as the Saturn V and the Space Shuttle. It is the largest single-story building in the world and because the interior volume is so vast, the building has its own weather including rain clouds that form below the ceiling on humid days.
Space View Park commemorates the Mercury Project Missions. There are black granite stones in the walkway with each of the Mercury astronauts mission logos. You can even compare your hands (or paws) to the handprints of astronauts Alan Shepard and John Glenn.
We started our tour of Space View Park along the commemorative walkway and left through what is supposed to be the entrance to the park. Oops! We didn't see the Park Rules until the end and that is when we saw "No Dogs Allowed" except Service Dogs. We always follow the rules but made a mistake this time.
That said, no one was around at the Park for us to get in trouble; actually there was hardly anyone anywhere. You see, when the NASA Space Program stopped in 2011, almost 8,000 jobs were lost along the Space Coast. Some people had to move away to find new jobs and tourism declined so today, the Space Coast seems to be a shell of its former self. It's so sad, really.
Of course, you can still go visit the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and see all the cool booster rockets, space capsules and space shuttles. And, though Kennedy Space Center is not technically dog-friendly, if you are on a road trip with your dog and want to visit Kennedy Space Center, they offer FREE kenneling of your pets on site. I thought that was pretty nice.
Florida's Space Coast was a nice day trip for us; we road part of the way home along the coast. The Space Coast has some great beaches by the way including Cocoa Beach - home to the TV show I Dream of Jeannie.
Next week I will tell you more about
our Alien adventure and what I think of the Kia Soul.
Hey that's pretty cool to drive with an Alien to the Space Center :o) and I'm glad you saw the "no dogs" sign at the end of your visit :o) I feel sorry too for the people who lost their jobs... that's not good for the whole area if a giant business is closed....mostly efurrything goes downhill after that :o(
ReplyDeleteWhat a great visit.
ReplyDeleteit is sad and one of the worst things - space exploration is our future and to put a halt on our future is crazy
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful pictures, it looked like a wonderful day for a car trip. ..........stella rose
DeleteSo cool you were allowed to tag along on your trip. Did you see rockets and stuff!
ReplyDeleteSnorts,
Lily & Edward
For some reason, Mum had trouble accessing the "Comments" section!!!! Anyway, her ex used to work for NASA in Cleveland, OH. He work on, among other things, the SST and the Space Shuttle. It was a standing joke with our other NASA friends that he had top secret clearance at NASA and neither his (late) mother nor I were US citizens but both had "green" cards. However, mum said that they had an agreement between them: If ever her not being a citizen of the US (she still has a UK passport and green card!!) would cause him any problems, she would not hesitate to become a citizen. That problem never arose, so ...... she is still an alien -- incidentally can we come for a ride in your "Alien"?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun trip!
ReplyDeleteDid you see Barbara Eden?
ReplyDeleteInteresting trip OZ. It is sad that so many lost their jobs.
ReplyDeleteHow cool that you are testing all these different rides!
hugs
Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel
Love the paw prints on the hand prints photo! ;) Enjoy your ride.
ReplyDeleteMom has the theme to I Dream Of Jeannie stuck in her head after seeing Kismet's comment.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of the Soul?
Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher
Great tour. We think you were being a service dog....a guide dog...so we could enjoy the area, too. You've probably got a few tourists interested.
ReplyDeleteDo tell...did you find a Jeannie in a bottle or meet Major Healy?
ReplyDeleteMom has been to the Space Center a couple of times - such a shame that the program has been so reduced. Thanks for the tour - and oh how we would love to go to one of those beaches.
ReplyDeleteWoos - Ciara and Lightning
That is such a cool place to "accidentally" get to visit, Oz. I'm sure they'd have let you stay anyway since you are "out of this world" cute! ♥
ReplyDeleteOur mom was lucky to see two shuttle launches way back when she was younger. Thanks for taking us along on your trip.
ReplyDeleteOh Oz that would have been super fun..what a really fab place to visit and to see how your paw prints match up to the great astronauts :) Loves Fozziemum x
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun day trip and a beautiful beach too!
ReplyDeleteWe also think it is kind saf they had to shut the space program down and all those jobs were lost :-(
Smileys!
Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo
What a great trip, looks like a fun time was had, thank you for sharing it with us. Have a great week, see ya when I get back.
ReplyDeleteSounds like lots of fun!!
ReplyDeleteღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
So cool that you got to go there Oz! We would never have thought it was dog friendly. Mom was there years ago, saw the Space Shuttle on the launch pad. Love Dolly
ReplyDeleteCocoa Beach, yes! We remember that. That looks like a cool place to visit, and it is sad that it's not what it used to be, and so many people lost their jobs.
ReplyDeleteJan, Wag 'n Woof Pets
That looks like a fun trip!
ReplyDelete