We spent the weekend camping in Titusville and visiting Kennedy Space Center for 2 days.  Now we are "launching" into a unit study on space travel.  It was great this time because we got to see a shuttle on the launch pad--last time we were there, there was no shuttle there.  I think the launch date is the end of this month.   We learned a lot about several of the Apollo Missions and about the International Space Station.  We went to hear Astronaut Al Worden speak.  (He was on Apollo 15.) 

We also spent some time at Canaveral National Seashore.  It is the longest stretch of undeveloped beach on the east coast of Florida.  There are more than 500 species of wildlife on Merritt Island.  We saw a bobcat and some alligators.  John spotted an alligator on the shore on the other side of some water.  We turned around to go back and get a picture.  Some other people stopped before us and actually got out of their car to take a picture.  We were in our van behind them.  All of a sudden, the alligator went in the water and started swimming toward them.  Of course they went running back to their car.  The alligator stayed in the water with it's head peering out, I guess waiting to see if he would actually get lunch or not! 

While we were at the beach a helicopter flew by pretty low.  I thought it was kind of neat so I tried to get a picture of it (although it didn't turn out).  Anyway, John asked me later what I thought about it.  I hadn't seen it close since I was focused on getting the picture.  Come to find out, there was a machine gun pointed out with people scanning the beach!  We think it was probably security because there was a shuttle on the launch pad, but still.......