Cape Canaveral / Space Coast / Cocoa Beach
3, 2, 1...
(June 25, 2019 at 3:30am - Space X launch lights up the Banana River from 7.5 miles away!)
I happened to be staying with my mom in Florida while I searched for investment properties and did some exploring in The Sunshine State. It was just my luck that Space X was going to attempt their first night launch from Kennedy Space Center on the night of June 24, 2019.
I visited in the past but always found out about a launch after the fact. This was the first time I decided to Google upcoming launches and found quite a few upcoming plans for lift-off. I could not decide whether to go or just watch it on T.V. since launches can be cancelled or postponed right up until countdown.
I thought about visiting The Kennedy Space Center on the day of the launch and maybe adding an upgrade for viewing that night but the launch window started at 11:30am until 4:30am. What if the launch happened at 4:00am? I'd be waiting at Kennedy Space Center for up to eighteen hours!
I decided on the FREE option!
I decided to have dinner with my mom and sister before leaving from "The Villages" for the 90-minute drive. My goal was to arrive around 9:30pm and find a viewing spot. I did not take a picture that evening meal so here's one of our lunches together:
... and here's one of me and mom sprucing up a jar of marinara sauce with fresh onions, peppers, ground beef and hot sausages! There is nothing better than sharing a meal with family before heading out to a Space X Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch!
Alan Shepard Park at Cocoa Beach seemed to be a safe bet since it was open 24-hours a day while many of the "launch viewing parks" closed early in the evening:
I arrived to the parking lot at about 9:50pm and there was plenty of free parking since it was after official "closing hours". There were a few people on the beach which was pleasantly breezy after a hot & humid (normal) Florida day! It was very clear in the sky. Cocoa Beach is a large beach with soft sand. I began to think that it would have been a nice spot for a day at the beach with plenty of shops and restaurants in the area.
I got word on the beach that the launch was going to happen at 3:30am !! I had now wished that I brought a beach towel to nap on the beach. A folding lawn chair would've been another great option. I had driven down from the 95 South and onto A-1-A where I noticed people parked along the bridge along "Martin Anderson Beachline Expressway".
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