Winter Adventures 2012: The Beginning

Because we could find no other way to work it out, we made two trips to Florida this winter. Larzeleres invited us to spend some time at their condo in Cocoa Beach and we could come anytime between January 3 and January 21, when they would be returning to East Lansing. But we needed to fit our camping trip between Analyn’s birthday on Jan. 23 and Jordan’s birthday on Mar. 8. After many tries we decided the best thing to do was use Frequent Flier Miles (which we never manage to use anyway) to fly to Larzeleres’ from Jan. 11 to 19 and then begin our camping trip the weekend before Analyn’s birthday.

CHAPTER ONE: Cocoa Beach, Jan. 11-19

Patty Good drove us to the Lansing airport early Wed. morning and we flew Lansing to Detroit, then Detroit to Orlando where Mary Anne and John not only picked us up, but had packed a lunch for us to eat as we drove to Cocoa Beach. We had a marvelous 6 days with them at their time share at Los Olas (The Waves). Their three bedroom suite on the fifth floor is right on the beach, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and affords wonderful sunrises over the water. We had plenty of time for the beach, lounging in the pool or hot tub, playing cards, reading and just plain relaxing. I found myself magically awakening nearly every morning at 7:10, just in time to watch the sun rise, which never disappointed. Our planned activities were only three. On Thursday Marv, John and I took a 3 hour kayaking trip on the Banana River, which with the Indian River and the Intracoastal Waterway, forms a long lagoon that is an entire ecosystem of its own. It straddles temperate and tropical zones and so has a vast array of plant, animal and bird species. We enjoyed seeing horseshoe crabs, comb jellyfish, sting rays, dolphins and many herons and other birds. The weather was sunny with just a slight breeze and temperatures in the upper 60s so it was a perfect day. Our second planned activity was to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve. This area was set aside when NASA expanded Cape Kennedy to accommodate the Space Shuttle Program. It is extremely rich in bird species particularly. At the Visitor’s Center we even saw a painted bunting! As we drove the 7 mile nature drive we saw large flocks of ibis, egrets, roseate spoonbills, and white pelicans as well as occasional Great Blue Herons and Storks. We stopped at two spots to view a large bald eagle nest, which had a pair of adults that were easy to see and we were told there are two babies in the next. Towards the end of the drive we saw many alligators lounging in the sun on the banks of the waterway. Our final planned activity was to watch the MSU/Northwestern basketball game at Beef O’Brady’s with the Brevard County Alumni Association. First we stopped by to meet up with Melody and Bill Glick. Melody was Sarah’s second grade teacher and she and Mary Anne have become friends through the New Horizon’s Band in East Lansing, then were surprised and pleased to find that they winter just a few miles from each other in Florida! The six of us drove to a nearby canal where Jess, our kayaking guide, had virtually guaranteed we would see Manatees gathering to find some warmer water during the cool nights they were having. There were probably 30 or more of these gentle giants in the water that was only a few feet deep and about 15 feet wide. One could have practically walked across their backs to the other side without getting wet! It was a fascinating sight. We then went on to Beef O’Brady’s where about 25 people gathered in good spirits but sadly watched MSU lose their first Big Ten game of the year. L After the game we all went to the Glicks’ fabulous condo at Satellite Beach, where we enjoyed Bill’s yummy pork bar-b-que sandwiches. It was a lovely evening enjoyed by all. Our time in Cocoa Beach ended much too quickly and our gracious hosts drove us back to Orlando (where it was in the low 70s) on Tue. Jan. 17 to return to East Lansing (where it was in the low 20s).