I have been to plenty of beach towns over the years, but for last fifteen years I have made Cocoa Beach one of my prime hangouts for at least for a week or two each year. It is on Florida's Atlantic coast about 40 miles east of Orlando and all the attractions there. It is an easy, hour ride to Disney without having to fight the mobs in the hotels there.
The dynamics of the town make it a great place to vacation without being over-run with massive traffic jams like you would find at the Gulf Coast destinations in the Florida panhandle.
The town grew up during the space race of the 60's so there is more road capacity than is needed today because many of the locals have left with the declining space industry, leaving plenty of room to move around. From our condo, it is only a few blocks to a Publix shopping center with anything you would ever need.
The Kennedy Space Center is only about 15 miles up the coast so if you are there for a week you have a good chance of seeing a rocket launch from the beach. With only two confirmed space shuttle flights remaining, seeing a shuttle fly will be a rarity. Rockets are fun to watch, but the shuttle is really amazing.
The Space Center is a great place to visit to see the history of the space program and see rockets and spacecraft up close. Over the years, the facility has grown to two or three times the size that it was just 10 years ago.
Worldwide, Cocoa Beach is probably best known as the capitol of East Coast surfing. The waves aren't as large as on the west coast but the water is much warmer where you can surf without a wet suit.
Ron Jons is the key destination for visitors who want to buy something that makes them look like they know how to surf. I like it best for people watching since it is usually a real circus.
Another highlight of a visit to Cocoa is food. There are plenty of local seafood restaurants with a variety of food from the sea. Dixie Crossroads in nearby Titusville is known for their rock shrimp which is different than anything you have probably seen.
There are plenty of other things to see and do like the Brevard Zoo, Spring Training Baseball, Port Canaveral, Cocoa Village, and much more that make Cocoa Beach a great vacation destination.
In Pred Nation...
Predator's single game tickets go on sale this Saturday, which is about a month earlier than usual. At this post, the season's promotions are discussed.
Jim Diamond has come up with an "all-Mike" team for Pred's players named Mike. There's not as many as you would expect.
Paul McCann has a discussion about the new Pred's leadership and a thank-you to Ed Lang.
Dirk, the Forechecker, has his Breakfast Links served early today.
Aaron Sims takes a look at who will fill Mike Santorelli's shoes in Milwaukee this year.
Colin Wilson was described as having "dazzling shootout moves" in a charity game last night at the MTS Centre. That would be good to see.
After discussing best Predator memories recently, Nathan at Predlines discusses a couple of nightmares.
The Cincinnati Cyclones announced Jarrod Skalde as their new head coach at a presser on Thursday. Here is a video of the introduction. Cycward has the story.
Mark has has dismal economic news in his weekly My View column.
Kovi's Korner...
Players have been rather quiet on the Kovalchuk issue but a few Leafs talked to the Globe and Mail. On RLD Radio on Tuesday, Dustin Brown appeared to have been instructed not to say much too.
Around the NHL...
The @NoPinkInTheRink campaign is gaining momentum with a Twitter account and a Facebook Page. Rebecca Allen AKA @TigerPredsChick has a post explaining the campaign at Hockeyless in Memphis.
Patrick Kane is taking the Stanley Cup to Buffalo today. The Rick is one of his neighbors and asked several folks including me what they would do with the Cup if we had it for a day. There is a wide array of ideas.
Jim Gintonio has a good story about Kyle Turris who is set to return to the Coyotes after spending last year in the AHL. Turis was the third pick in the 2007 Entry Draft and had a rather marginal rookie year in Phoenix and has matured after a year in the minors.
Helene St. James relates how Todd Bertuzzi played into Mike Modano's move to Detroit.
Michel Kenneth shares her "Twitter-conversation" with Brendan Shanahan about red rockets.
Odds and Ends...
Last night, my wife and I celebrated our fifth anniversary at the Tom Petty/ Crosby, Stills and Nash show at the Bridgestone arena. Despite the highest ticket prices in Nashville's history, the show was near capacity and everyone went home happy.
In a rarity, CSN played a full ninety minute set prior to Tom Petty's full 100 minute show. If the tour is headed to you town, I would recommend see it if you don't mind dropping the big bucks.
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment