A Drive to Cape Canaveral: Space Exploration at the Kennedy Space Center

Our drive through Florida was a scenic delight for us as the state offered unique opportunities that catered to our tastes and interest in our vacation. Of course we had a visit to the perennial favorites such as Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World Orlando, etc.. We arranged a tourist trip through the Everglades, which we found to be a superb natural attraction. But like every visitor to the 'Sunshine State' we wanted to see a launching of a rocket or the space shuttle at Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.

Through 'www.capecanaveral.com' we were able to have a choice of comfortable lodging both in Orlando and on Cocoa Beach. We chose a hotel at Cocoa Beach, just minutes from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral; and we had the sandy beach nearby for a swim in the cool sea as well as view of the mighty Atlantic Ocean. (The inns at Orlando and the City of Canaveral are just as inviting and they have convenient access to all the major attractions of the area; it all depends upon your needs and requirements)

At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Cape Canaveral (www.kennedyspacecenter.com) we went on a tour and got a unique chance to tour - up close - NASA's launch and landing facilities. Then to an experience with interactive simulators, to viewing live shows and encounters with massive rockets, as well as the opportunity to meet a real member of NASA's Astronaut Corps.

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Cape Canaveral, a triangle of flat sandy land that juts out of the Atlantic ocean halfway up the east coast of Florida. The area in the past lived up to its old Spanish name, meaning 'canebrake' - it can be interpreted as 'Cape of Canes'. It was a barren land that had no residents. The underbrush and small palmetto trees were host to snakes, raccoons, deer, and bobcats; alligators slept in the warm sun on the banks of quiet streams. For a time few people even knew the area's name - Cape Canaveral.