Kennedy Space Center

In Port Canaveral, the ship included a tour of the Kennedy Space Center. It was even better than we expected!

We spent the whole day there and still didn’t get to see everything. The exhibits cater to people of all ages, and there are so many to explore.

It’s hard to pick a favorite exhibit, but I must say the section dedicated to the Apollo missions did a wonderful job capturing the excitement of that era.

Launch control fascinates me, and, of course, I got a kick out of all the cigarettes, cigars, and ashtrays littering the desks.

I was surprised to learn how busy all the launch sites are. They expect 90 launches this year.

No tours were offered for Blue Origin, which is where Jeff Bezo’s houses space projects, nor did we go inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB.)

It’s hard to convey the size of the VAB in a photo, but it is massive. For instance, the American flag on the side is 21-stories-high. It even holds the Guinness record for the world’s largest doors.

I was also happy to learn that despite all the high tech activity, the space center employs an environmental consultant. This meant that in addition to all the rockets, we saw lots of birds. I noticed a ton of osprey nesting platforms, for instance, and the roadside ditches were full of water birds.

I would definitely enjoy visiting here again!Read more