A NASA Flunk Means Manatee Success

First of all, you should know that Walmart has finally failed us. Apparently, you can't camp at any Walmart near the Florida coast, so we have had to be more creative about our accommodations (although the first two nights we camped anyway in protest). 

However, once we rounded the bottom of Florida and got on 95N (which will take us all the way to NY), we entered Rest Area Territory. So instead of camping in Walmart parking lots, we now camp in rest area parking lots. The only downfall is not being able to get yogurt and milk in the morning for breakfast. But the rest areas actually end up being less noisy, so it all balances out in the end.

Our first night at the rest area was particularly  interesting because we shared our camping area with two armadillos. Casey chased them around for a while and tried to get a picture, but they are quite quick and none of the shots came out.

Anyway, the next day we got up bright and early to go to the Kennedy space center. On the way, we stopped to see the first US manned rocket.  It was amazingly small... maybe 4 feet in diameter. 

When we got to the center, we learned that they wanted 38 dollars per person to go in, so we bailed.

Casey was really upset, having talked about going to the NASA center the whole trip (he actually got a little grumpy.... "40 F@%&ing dollars!!!").  So, we decided to head toward the coast to see if we could find a different activity. On our way we got pulled over by the local police for....

you are not gong to believe this, but just look at the picture....

SPEEDING.

Yes, apparently we can speed in the van.

But, being quick and resourceful, I launched up to show off my belly and started babbling about how we were heading to Massachusetts to have a baby.

The cop couldn't help himself, we only got a warning (for 15 over!)

After our narrow escape from the law, we found a nice oceanside wildlife refuge to relax in for a while. We got to see a nest full of bald eagles and a lot more alligators. We then went to the Manatee Watch sight, where I was convinced that we did not have a prayer of seeing a wild Manatee, but just look at these pictures!!! 

Can you believe it? Endangered wild manatees.... We saw two!

So, it was quite a day. We had  to retreat early to our friendly rest area to get some sleep.

Bye for now.