Cocoa

We arrived in Cocoa on Monday morning but just missed Ted and Alice from Windsong. The twins were born the day before, and they left to fly to Seattle just before we arrived. Both Jock's Lodge and Star Shadow were in Cocoa, so we anchored near them. Once again, we have plenty of space. Our consolation prize was to watch an Atlas rocket launch later that day. It was really awesome, and we were able to follow it downrange for a very long time. After dark, while checking something on deck, I noticed the phosphorescence in the water is very intense here. By making noise to cause the fish to dart, they would then cause bright streaks of light. The next night, we had our dinghy out, and it was as if we had installed lights under the hull. Tuesday, we joined up with the crews from Jock's Lodge and Star Shadow to visit Cocoa Beach. It is just a 60-cent bus ride. They currently have a red tide there, so we did not plan to swim. A red tide is an algae bloom that is harmful to marine wildlife. No one was aware of the impact on air quality. To a person, as soon as we stepped off the bus, we began coughing. Needless to say, we did not spend much time on the beach and took shelter inside a restaurant for lunch. We decided an afternoon at the mall was a better alternative. It was a nice day to get caught up with everyone, ending with Happy Hour on Jock's Lodge. Both Jock's Lodge and Star Shadow are planning Christmas at Vero Beach, so we will be separating again for a while. We sent an email to Ted and Alice to arrange a place to meet up again after they return.