Canaveral National Seashore

19Feb13

I have been to Canaveral National Seashore on the Atlantic side of Florida twice before. But this time I really visited the National Park Service site.

Canaveral National Seashore is a barrier island near the Kennedy Space Center. In fact, in years past I have been able to see the Space Shuttle on the launch pad from a distance. There’s no more Space Shuttles, but the seashore is the longest expanse of pristine shore in Florida.

The day my wife, Carole, and I went to Canaveral the weather was absolutely sensational – low 80s and sunny. And even though it was a Monday there were plenty of people taking advantage of the beach. There must have been at least 15 parking lots in the lower half of the park with easy access to the beach. We even saw several surfers although none really stayed upright long enough to get any good photos.

We did get a warning about the beaches we entered the park. The last parking spot is adjacent to the nude beach. Carole and I viewed the beach from a distance and saw a partially naked gentleman. Carole says he wasn’t totally nude because he was wearing a hat – I just wished the hat would have covered another part of his body.

The only other part of Canaveral we visited was the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The brochures say you can see all kinds of birds and other critters like bobcats, alligators and manatees.

We took the Black Point Wildlife Drive, a one-way drive where we mostly saw different variety of birds. We probably should have gone earlier in the day or later to see the other animals.

There was a manatee sighting at the Manatee Observation Deck. The couples in front of us said they saw at least six manatees close up. We had almost given up when one sole, old manatee made his way close to us. We couldn’t really see much of him – but it was worth the stop.

As was much of Canaveral National Seashore – even with the naked man.

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