What Happens in Florida stays in Florida
Cocoa Beach is a sleepy little town outside of Orlando on the Atlantic coast of Florida. We have been going to Cocoa Beach for as long as I can remember. My grandparents got a condo down there in the early eighties, and as much as they loved each of the families coming and visiting them in the months that they were down there, they decided they needed one more! The downstairs condo was added to the mix. There are so many things that are delightful about this place. It is not overly commercialized (although it gets more and more so every year). The routine of getting there is easy and familiar, like a holiday tradition (fly, ride the tram, get the bags, drive to the coast, open the shutters, race to the sliding doors to see if the view from the porch is still glorious. It never disappoints, every time it's perfect.
And although, somethings that we love about this place are long gone, there are new things, now that we are bringing our own family here that we are growing to love. Maybe I won't eat chips and cheese on the porch and play 20 questions any more, but my boys will and that delights me.
Just as there is the ritual of getting to Cocoa Beach there are certain things that we do there every year. We always go to Ron Jon's Surf Shop, a completed overpriced gimicky store with Tshirts and beach gear that have become iconic in the area and even around the world. The building isn't what it used to be - but the tropical stucco and gaudy posters everywhere grow on you. We also used to go to a place called Lobster Shanty.
Lobster Shanty used to be called Pelican Point, and every year we would get dressed up (well, beach-dressed up, i.e. no flip flops) and go to this restaurant. There is a koi pond, hush puppies and an amazing salad bar. After dinner we would head out to the dock to feed the catfish and the birds and look for porpoises. Over the years the food has become increasingly mediocre, but there were still things we loved about this joint. There was the metallic octagon plates that were chilled to perfection at the salad bar and that alone kept me coming back. Well, this year, Jack Baker decided he didn't need the salad bar or the fantastic chilly plates. So, next year - we begin our search for our new ritual dinner spot. In the mean time a few pictures to commemorate our last outing to, what will always be, Pelican Point.
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| Koi Pond |
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| Feeding the fish |
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| Thomas family - Sayonara Pelican Point |
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| More fish feeding |
Another activity that is a ritual in Cocoa Beach is a trip to the Manatees stadium. Its minor league baseball at its best! Outdoor Space Coast Stadium doesn't disappoint and they even have fireworks if you are lucky enough to be there around the 4th. This year, was even more special because our Luke loves loves loves baseball. He was delighted to be there and was excited and attentive for most of the game. This year the manatees played the Palm Beach Cardinals. I don't remember who won but the game was sure fun to watch.
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| Andrew and cousin Jake |
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| View from our seats |
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| Uncle Bob and Cousin Jake |
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| Grandma and Grandpa even come to the ballpark! |
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| He loved. |
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| So much fun! |
Another thing about the condos in cocoa beach is that they are really not far from Disney. People always say they want to wait and take their kids to Disney when they are older and can enjoy it - and I get that. Disney is an enormous undertaking - flying there, driving there, staying there, eating there, etc. That is whats great about our set up - it is a 45 minute drive. So, even if the day is a total bust, no harm, no foul - pack up and drive 45 minutes home and try again next year. Billy and I decided that this year was our year to try it with the boys. And boy, are we glad we did. I probably got choked up 10 times while we were there seeing the boys in complete utopia and I wanted to hug every employee I saw who made our entire experience perfection from beginning to end.
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| We were already excited by the entrance |
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| "Mickey's House" |
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| Brave Andrew kissing Minnie - meeting Minnie & Mickey was easily the high-point! |
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| Boys got some ears - of course! And they still wear them!! |
And then there was the drive home.
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| We were still on Disney property at this point |
There used to be the occasional shuttle launch or rocket launch from Cape Canaveral that you could watch from the beach or the balcony Epic rumbling would rattle the sand and if it was nighttime, near blinding light - it was an awesome experience. Well, now that the space program is in a tailspin, the chances of us seeing a launch have dropped off to say the least. So this year we had to settle for Air Force One roaring down the coastline. It is an awesome sight. My brother has pictures of AF1 in flight, I snapped this one of it parked on the tarmac at Patirck's Air Force Base.
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| This pic does not do the size justice! |
This is a new tradition that Billy and I have started - every year we are going to snap a pic of our kiddos on the rock outside the pool. It will be fun to see them change!!
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| 2012 |
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| 2012 |
These are last years'
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| 2011 |
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| 2011 |
And then of course there is just the fun of being here. Going to the beach, Grandpa fishing, Grandma in the pool, our cousins being with us, "blast-offing" with daddy, good naps, family time - the list goes on.
Glorious, glorious Cocoa Beach - see you next year, and all the years after ...
