Cape Canaveral is best known for NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Nearby is Cocoa Beach, which people of my generation will remember as the home of astronaut Tony Nelson, who upon returning from space found what looked like an Arabic bottle laying on a beach. This magic lantern contained "a beautiful genie who could grant any wish." That premise would never be greenlighted in today's woke environment, but back in the 1960s, we considered it good clean fun suitable for children. The show was Sidney Sheldon's timely nod to the "Space Race" as the USA sought to catch up with USSR's Sputnik.
I Dream of Jeanie ran from 1965 to 1970, which you may be surprised to learn is longer than the original Star Trek starring Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner aired. Star Trek ran from 1966 to 1969, an integral part of the same television Zeitgeist that included My Favorite Martian and Lost In Space, both of which also ran three seasons. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong piloted Apollo 11 to the moon to plant the American flag in moondust, so mission accomplished. The space shows faded into history, temporarily at least.
We visited NASA about twenty years ago and possibly learned quite a bit lost in the fog of memories about Universal's Islands of Adventure and multiple rides on Men In Black: Alien Attack at Universal Orlando.
Cape Canaveral was known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, honoring President John F. Kennedy who famously said words that still ring in my ears, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
I guess most of what we believed back then is now politically incorrect, including being proud of our country and hearts swelling to see the American flag planted in moon dust.
Back to I Dream of Jeanie, you probably recognize the show's stars. Barbara Eden went on to have a long career appearing in many movies including mature roles as the sexy mom in the film adaptation of Harper Valley PTA and when she was almost 90, a role as Mrs. Claus in a 2019 Christmas movie.
Larry Hagman gained fame that dwarfed his astronaut role by playing J.R. Ewing in the long-running nighttime soap opera Dallas.
Visiting the Kennedy Space Center is an easy, educational shore excursion for anyone interested in space and particularly for families who want to stimulate an interest in science.
Disney World, Universal Orlando and other theme parts beckon, but 8 hours in port doesn't provide much time, especially when you factor in roundtrip transportation and margins of error for traffic, but if that's something you want to do, you can likely find a way.
Julie and I just started walking toward Cocoa Beach. Along the way, we passed through a neighborhood where we heard strange bird calls. While we knew this was Peacock Beach, it is somewhat surprising to actually encounter these huge, colorful birds standing next to a suburban garage door or on a lawn.
Peacocks are not native to Florida. Some say they were exotic pets that escaped their owners, but I lean to the origin theory that real estate developers brought them to Florida to give an exotic feel to the beachside community to attract buyers.
Whatever the case, some residents now want to get rid of them, because they do have rather annoying squawks, while of course some neighbors love their beauty, regardless of how they arrived from India.
After walking in the wet sand beside the teal ocean for a few minutes, we plunked down on the beach to enjoy the sunshine with a panoramic seaside view, which was a primary goal for this vacation. We never officially reached Cocoa Beach, stopping at the beach of Cherie Down Park, where there are showers and restrooms tucked behind bushes at the inland edge of the white sand.
We wore bathing suits under our street clothes, so we eventually went into the ocean. The water was not as warm as we hoped, coming in somewhere around 71 degrees I would guess, but I enjoyed jumping up over the waves that weren't big or well-defined enough to body surf.
I managed to catch a couple of better formed waves that happened to break right where I was. Julie also went in for awhile, but I'd say mostly to cool down, as she had been missing sunny California days looking out at the sea that we enjoyed routinely while living in Redondo Beach.
Never forget your intentions, but not to the point of not allowing yourself to enjoy serendipity of the moment.
On our walk back to the ship, we saw more peacocks and also peahens, the female versions of peafowl which don't have nearly the plumage but are still cool. We laughed when a parade of six peahens marched across the street like they were imitating the Beatles crossing Abbey Road. Cars going both directions stopped, causing a bit of a traffic jam on what are relatively quiet roads. We were so caught up in the moment that we failed to snap a photo.
Our ship was in port from noon until 8 PM, but we were back aboard well before sunset to enjoy afternoon coffee in the Royal Promenade and happy hour in the Diamond Lounge before another amazing meal and great evening of entertainment around the ship.
The cruising life is very good indeed.
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