Space Coast Spring Break
I’m fortunate with my day job that sometimes I get to travel. This past week was spent in the Space Coast of Florida: Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, and the like. Fortunately for me, there was lots going on in Brevard County as it’s spring break for everyone else! Outside of the work objectives of my work travel, the next most important objective is the boondoggle.
boondoggle
[ boon-dog-uhl, -daw-guhl ] noun
a wasteful and worthless project undertaken for political, corporate, or personal gain, typically a government project funded by taxpayers.
However, unlike the definition above (thanks dictionary.com), my boondoggles don’t incur costs to the government or taxpayers, they’re just fun side activities. As a travel addict, the boondoggle could be anything that piques my interest outside of work hours. In the past they’ve ranged from night skiing to hiking, hockey games and museums. This time it meant a wildlife refuge and a surfing festival.
Quite a bit of land in the Space Coast area is dedicated to wildlife conservation. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge covers over 140,000 acres, including a portion of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. There’s also River Lakes Conservation Area, Salt Lake Wildlife Management Area, Canaveral National Seashore, the list goes on. It’s an overlooked natural extravaganza full of birds, turtles, manatees, and gators. So I went in search of some, and this trip ended with no manatee sightings, but plenty of other animals were around, including a cute bird family.
The other happy coincidence was being in town during the Beach N’ Boards Fest in Cocoa Beach where world class surfers come to “hang ten” better than their competitors. If you’ve never watched anyone surf (like I hadn’t), it’s truly fascinating to see them cut through the fleeting wave with precision and balance. Maybe I should learn how to surf?? I think my sunburn(s) would disagree with trying too soon but maybe once it heals…
So that’s what’s coming up now, life captured within spitting distance of America’s premiere rocket launch facility. I hope you enjoy. As always, keep an eye on Instagram (@journeywithryan) and YouTube (@journeywithryan) over the next couple weeks as I post space coast content. And don’t forget to check out the full gallery right here at journeywithryan.com.
