You may have already seen that Endeavour is due to launch in April this year for the last time.

We were in Florida last year and took the opportunity to watch one of the rocket launches from Cape Canaveral. It was amazing.

We travelled to Titusville and parked up along the Indian River to watch the launch. We sat by the waterside and was fortunate to be parked next to the wife of the Operations Manager for Cape Canaveral. So we were getting up the the minute updates on when it was going to launch.

As the rocket launched we could see it take off in the distance and then a minute or so later the sound hit us. It was superb to see - a once in a liftime opporunity. We have some great photos.

Once it had disappeared into the atmosphhere we stayed in Titusville and explored the Launch Park nearby that had a couple of memorials.

Then to finish off the day we visited Dixieland for a meal and had their speciality Rocket Prawns. A superb finish to a liftime experience.

So if you get the chance this Easter do not miss the launch of Endeavour

Cocoa Beach – the local billboards say it all – this is Orlando’s Closest Beach. It is just 45 minutes drive away from Orlando International Airport.  Take the aptly named Beach line Expressway (528) straight east, keep driving and arrive.  Buy a souvenir at Ron Jon’s Surf Shop, and then head to the beach – fantastic and not crowded at all.

Kennedy Space Center - is just north of Cocoa Beach.  It has an amazing museum of space exploration (known as the KSC Visitors Complex) and is well worth a full day visit. If you plan to catch a shuttle launch, be prepared to sit in traffic for several hours driving back to Orlando, but the spectacle of an actual launch will be well worth it.  Our whole family loved the day.

Daytona Beach - if all you are looking for is sun, sand and surf, then a quick trip Cocoa Beach will get you there a bit quicker and give you all you want.  However, Daytona Beach is less than two hours away, and it has a special appeal to Spring Breakers, bikers, and NASCAR fans. If you stay until sunset, the brightly colored Ocean Walk Shoppes and Movies offers a fantastic ocean view.  The beach is really hard and many cars and pick ups drive along it (slowly of course)

Tampa area – is less than two hours drive away from Florida on the West coast.  Check out Florida’s Gulf Coast in the historically rich city of Tampa. Nearby at St. Petersburg there are upscale shopping areas and museums while Clearwater Beach offers warm waters and powdery white sand.

Silver Springs – is another “Old Florida” icon.  It is famous for its glass bottomed boat rides, animal exhibits, and jeep safaris through the Florida forest. Silver Springs was opened in 1878, and is Florida’s oldest commercial tourist attraction.  It is where Johnny Weismuller filmed some of the earliest Tarzan movies.  A little drive away from Orlando but well worth visiting for the crystal clear springs.

Ocala National Forest – is not far from Silver Springs. It is the world’s largest sand pine forest and covers around 366,000 acres. Hiking, fishing, and canoeing are popular activities in this natural attraction.

Mount Dora - with its Victorian architecture, boutique shopping, and lovely lakefront, Mount Dora is one of the most genuine small towns in Central Florida. You can even see some of the few remaining citrus groves on the outskirts of this well preserved village.  My wife just loved Mount Dora with its fantastic quaint shops.  You can also go on a boat ride on the lake.  Well worth a visit.

Sebring – is a sleepy town less than two hours due south of Orlando, Sebring has a charming downtown district, and is home to the Sebring International Raceway, which is the oldest permanent road racing track in North America. Nearby Highlands Hammock State Park offers campsites and hiking trails.

Blue Spring State Park - with the water temperature at a constant 68º F, Blue Spring State Park in nearby Volusia County (where Daytona Beach is located) is a winter refuge for manatees between November and March. In the warmer months, human visitors enjoy snorkeling and canoeing.

Believe it or not, the manatee, or “Sea Cow” is a distant cousin of the elephant, and scientists have traced them both back some 60 million years to a common ancestor. Their forelimbs contain three to four fingernails, very similar to an elephant’s.

Manatees are herbivores, eating only aquatic plants, and typically grow to about 2,000 pounds and almost 12 feet. Unhappily, their backs often bear the marks of boat propeller scars, as they tend to graze near the surface of shallow water. They have no natural predator, but contact with humans (and their boats!) along with loss of feeding grounds (also down to the humans) has made them an endangered species

So Where Can I see Manatees in the Orlando area?

The easy answer, of course, is at Sea World, but it might be more fun to see them in the wild. We have seen manatees on the Gulf Coast where they congregate around docks in the summer months, and around the Merritt Island area by The Kennedy Space Center.

In the cooler months, however, the ocean gets too cold for manatees, so they look for warmer waters. They typically come to inland Florida waters via rivers and canals.

The best place to see manatees inland is at Blue Spring State Park, just off the St. Johns River  (you can get there on the I4), between November and March. There they have a boardwalk which gives perfect viewing.

If you want to get up close and personal, go to the Crystal River area, and go snorkelling or rent a small boat. As many as 300 manatees winter in the Crystal River area on the West coast, 80 miles north of Tampa, and less than 2 hours from Orlando. Again, the best time is from late November until the end of February and it is recommended to avoid weekends if you want to avoid the crowds.

Strangely enough, the Tampa Electric Company is a great place to see manatees during the colder weather. The company’s Big Bend Station on Tampa Bay attracts manatees in winter to its warm-water discharge and they have built a special manatee viewing centre with a viewing platform, open from early December to March (closed Monday and Tuesday). From the I-75 in Tampa take the ApolloBeach exit onto Big Bend road. The viewing centre is at a turn after the road’s intersection with U.S. 41.

Happy mermaid hunting!

Andy Brownlie