Date of Trip: December 21, 2004
In anticipation of a rocket launch, we packed the van full of relatives and headed for Jetty Park in Port Canaveral, Florida. We payed a parking fee at the park, which was very inexpensive compared to other options for seeing a launch. Check the Jetty Park link above for current costs. The park boasts a playground and refreshment stand which was very entertaining for our young group of rocket watchers. We were not the only group to come to the 1200 foot fishing pier to watch the launch. But, we found the pier to be an exciting place to wait and watch the sky. While waiting, we got a lucky glimpse of some porpoises swimming in the water. After a couple hours of postponements, we felt very fortunate to see the launch that day. (Launch photos by MDL)
I love to hear these stories. I just took my 5 year old to watch the night launch of space shuttle Endeavour. He said it was “awesome!”. We live just a few blocks south of Port Canaveral so we just walked over to the beach and joined about 200,000 other people. The moon was full and just hovered over the ocean with a spectacular reflection. The only thing brighter was the “daylight” that came from lift-off of the shuttle. There’s only a few launches left. So, I encourage anyone who can to come and watch a shuttle launch. Jetty Park is a great vantage point too. Here’s a place to find local hotels you can see a launch from: A Unique Guide to True Port Canaveral Hotels. And here you can find what else to do while you are here: Port Canaveral Area Attractions.