Panthers to Space Shuttles in Titusville, FL

The space shuttle is the big draw for Titusville, FL. We stayed at The Great Outdoors (TGO) for only a few days (June 10-14). The town was past its prime, with many boarded up stores and vacant buildings. It's hard to say which took a bigger toll: the economy or the end of the shuttle program.



Our site at The Great Outdoors


At TGO there was plenty of nature, tennis, pool, yoga, walking paths, biking, and some unique homesteads for RV families! (see below)
 
 
 
We saw all manner of nature right by the coach: box turtle, deer, alligator, and a golden panther. S/he snuck up right by the back window while Dede was on the phone. By the time she got the camera out it had stalked up to the front and we caught only a minute on video through the trees. It looked like a cat that was as big as a dog. Very confusing!

 

Box Turtle

 

Deer

 


The little alligator head is poking out to watch! (bottom right)


 
Family Makes Every Trip Worthwhile!

Chris (Dede's brother), Dede and Nina (Dede's niece)

We looked forward to a visit from Dede's brother, Chris and his daughter Nina, and their significant others. They live almost an hour away in Orlando. We had a nice dinner in the coach, played some music, and just fooled around talking a bit afterwards. It will be a long time before we see them again! (Wah!)

Kristina and Chris goofing around

 

Nina and Dave as cute as can be!

 
 
 
Kennedy Space Center Visit
The Kennedy Space Center is worth a day or two visit. 


Dreamers!

They have parts of the craft that went up into space and in some cases where they made duplicate items, they have them in the center. We went on a simulated ride that was really cool. The astronauts who have taken the ride say it's very much like the real thing! 

Now that we've seen everything up close, we don't want to go out into space anymore. Our craft (the motor coach) is just the right size and with much less peril!

Here are the interconnected parts of the Apollo spacecraft, starting from the top...
 


This is where the people are. Tiny!

 


This module takes them to/from the moon.

 


This is the rocket that takes them back home.



This is the second set of rockets after lift-off.



 

 


This is the rocket booster at the bottom. A person could stand in the circle!
It falls to the sea after lift-off.

 

This is the real control room (relocated) for the Apollo missions.

 

 

 

One of the moon landers (It pops out of the service unit!)

 

Remember phone booths? These are a rare sight!

 

 

 

Cool Homes at The Great Outdoors

 

We got to tour some of the homes on the resort. They range from hangars to multi-car garage homes. Of coarse we picked out several that we'd like to live in one day!

Simple double-wide trailer home with an RV bay. (Kim's favorite)

 

Nice porch extension behind RV bay. Sweet!

 

House with RV bay.

 


House with RV bay and gulf cart bay. Dede's favorite.

 

 

House with RV bay, golf cart bay.

 

 

Our favorite doorstep: Kaye-Mom's home in Clearwater!
(This is where all our mail is going.)

 


We got to see Kaye for one night's visit after Titusville.
She looks great and continues to do rings around us, taking classes and entertaining friends.
Clearwater is a fabulous cultural center for an artist like her!

 

Here we are in Dade City (North of Clearwater) picking up our car and trailer.
We looked into buying a smaller hybrid car that would fit into a larger trailer.
But then we'd have to sell our beautiful convertible and current trailer.
Too much like work!

 

The scooter fits in right next to boxes of seasonal clothes and tennis gear.

 

Beautiful Traveler's Rest resort in Dade City, where we work-camped
from January through March before touring Florida.

 

We have only one more stop in Florida before we make a little

family and friends visit up North.