After I had lived out my childhood dream at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, it was time to let my Dad live out his.
[Bit of background if you are new around here… I work for my Dad and unbelievably, this was a work trip!]
My Dad was 9 when his family gathered around a black and white television set to watch man land on the moon. I don’t think he’s ever dreamed of travelling to space, but he loves all forms of transport – be it cars, boats or planes. And yes, rockets too.
I had imagined this was going to be a day of smiling politely and feigning interest while he ran around like a kid in a sweetshop, but after an hour, I was finding it all quite exciting as well.
Space travel doesn’t need any glamourisation, but NASA certainly know how to put on a show. If I had children, and I wanted to spark an interest in science or STEM fields – this is where I would take them.
I don’t think anyone could ever convince me to board a rocket, but I have a new found respect for those who do.
There are many educational resources at the Kennedy Space Centre but I found the film on their planned mission to Mars especially interesting. I’m not sure I see a need to push the boundaries of what the human body can endure, but for those who do want to venture further from earth, the work they are doing to support life in space is fascinating.
And if you aren’t able to venture to Florida yet, I would definitely recommend the film ‘Hidden Figures‘ in the meantime.
A couple of days after our trip to the Kennedy Space Centre, we headed south for our conference. It seemed wrong to bypass Cocoa Beach on the way so we made a slight detour for lunch.
This area is where the families of the astronauts lived in the 1960s, and the beach is where they gathered to watch their loved ones take off for the moon.
It’s relatively quiet compared to other tourist spots in Florida and we had a lovely peaceful lunch at the end of the pier, overlooking the ocean.
Where we were joined by a few locals.
Girl In The Pretty Dress 