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We are officially welcomed . .
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A rare hybrid Florida Palm-Fir-Pine-Holiday-Illumitatus-Fakus
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Our first look at the Space Center - the vehicle assembly building
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In our RV Park, an Anhinga (or snakebird), drying itself
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Another interesting bird in the RV park
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These Great Egrets were very common
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Across the Indian River, the space center from Titusville
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The egret could care less
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Behind the fisherman, that thing on the horizon is the space shuttle
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There were lots of vultures around, besides the ones selling condos
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Ugly on the ground, but very graceful in flight"
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That's the beach at Canaveral
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A plover plovering
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Those small white spots on the horizon are rocket recovery ships getting ready for the shuttle launch
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We never tire of watching those beach birds
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Not a lot of people on the beaches this time of year
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Fort Christmas was named because they started building it on Christmas day, 1837
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In the state park, they have moved in authentic buildings from late 1800s
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There was a gathering of deputies on Harleys
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The fort buildings are all reconstructed
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There was a school tour and costumed docents the day we visited
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We don't think these ladies actually live in those flower boxes.
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Little lizards like the sun
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These buildings are all authentic, moved here from around the state
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The Resurrection Fern, here all dried, comes back to life after a rain
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The World's Longest Gator - just over 200 ft. We looked it up
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A ladder-mounted drying rack we spotted on the motorhome next door
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Another majestic crane in the RV park
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No gaters spotted, but the pond was beautiful
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Be warned - lots of bird pictures in this slide show
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Wouldn't that make a neat hood ornament?
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Hope the bird can read
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We think it's a young ibis, grazing the RV park pond
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Our very own clothes rack!
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We happened upon a group (herd? pod? flock?) of manatees grazing along a canal
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There were about 7 animals, this one being most photographable
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Strange beast, most closely related to the elephant, they say
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A flock of pelicans is fun to watch
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Shore birds keeping the beach clean
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They run in and out with every wave
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Photogenic clouds
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Two sailboats just passed under the causeway
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Entering the Kennedy Space Center vistor complex
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These rockets are on permanent display at the Space Center
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An astronaut watches us from the Space Center entry
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A space art gallery filled the time until our bus tour - this was our favorite
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This granite space globe rotated in a pool of water
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Pre-tour briefing from Rob the tour guide
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The VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) is where the shuttle gets mated to those external rockets
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If you pay for premium seats, this is as close as you get to the shuttle launch - about 7 miles
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The shuttle is over there
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The toilet in the Space Station. Everybody wonders how they do "that"
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Inside a space station module mockup
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Rob the tour guide explains the old Skylab configuration
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Inside a Skylab module - that's the docking hatch at the end
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Huge room where the shuttle cargo gets assembled and tested
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This unfolds and becomes a gigantic space arm
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The flag on the side of the VAB is the size of a regulation basketball court. It's a BIG building
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That's about as close as we got to the shuttle, which is inside all that structure"
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The business end of a Saturn V rocket, which launched all of the Apollo missions
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It is one huge piece of hardware
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It last flew to launch the first piece of the Space Station
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Even the second stage is monstrous
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The unused Shuttle Launch tower at pad 39-B
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That's an Atlas 5 rocket with a spy satellite aboard readying for a launch later in the day
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Back at the visitor center, full-size shuttle and boosters await touring
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There were several shuttles built for testing and training - this is one of them
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The bright spot is the Atlas rocket lifting off about 13 miles away
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Even from that distance, the view and the noise were spectacular
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Probably the best picture Judy got of the rocket
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Neat smoke plume shows where the winds were
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It's called the astronaut's Company Car - the T38 jet trainer
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Neat sunset - Judy can't resist them
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First Presbyterian Church, Titusville - very friendly folks
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Inside the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge visitor center
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Peek-a-boo! Screech owl in a display
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Neat bromeliad on a tree
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We keep trying to see the space shuttle - this is from a section of the refuge closed during a launch.
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We didn't see the whole gator, but from the head this one is quite large
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All kinds of birds working the water
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The refuge hosts hundreds of thousands of migrating birds and about that many year-long residents
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One last try for a shuttle picture
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Anhinga, we think
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You'd think it would get a neck cramp
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Water was warm enough for them, anyway
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An osprey gives us the eye
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A couple of vultures watch the osprey
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Aww - the Christmas Monkey! Aww . . .
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All kinds of birds hang out where the food is good
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An ibis in a tree
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An ibis in the swamp
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A flock of ibises
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A bunch of spoonbills in the bushes
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They are so graceful, considering those curious noses
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The egrets look so graceful
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Out of focus, but it ain't easy getting a picture of these things in flight
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A pretty good sized crab in one of the lagoons
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The Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker has very distinctive markings
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And finally, one last Blue Heron.