To Jetty Park for Launch

 My luck of taking photographs of a SpaceX launch by going to Jetty Park has not been so good lately. I drive up there and the launch is scrubbed. I am getting lots of great photos but not of my goal. I guess I just need to be happy with the shots I do get, and any stories I may have about them to entertain myself.

If you are at Port Canaveral, and specifically at Jetty Park, there is a good chance there will be birds and boats. Other "B" shots include beer, boobs, and butterflies...

When waiting for a launch, one boat that is always there is the Brevard County Sheriff boat. They also protect the cruise ships but that job has not been too busy since the pandemic and the CDC has a No-Sail order, which did get extended again today...



There are always fishermen at the park, some on the shore, some on the jetty, some on the fishing pier, and some in boats (or whatever you call this thing)


There are legitimate fishing boats leaving the Port for a day out in the Atlantic. This  one is called "My Girl".  That is the VAB in the background with the iconic American Flag painted on the side. The VAB is NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building and was used for Apollo and Shuttle eras. That small U.S. flag you see painted on the left is 209 feet long by 110 feet wide. Each star is more than six feet in diameter and each stripe is nine feet wide.


Carnival cruise lines is set to use the new terminal 3 that was completed recently and located close to Jetty Park. The plan is to dock Carnival's newest ship named the Mardi Gras, and it will be the world's largest cruise ship when it starts sailing out of Port Canaveral. At this time, the dock has been empty except for this small dingy that was docked at the terminal today. The name is the mylin IV and is owned by Micky Arison, the current owner of Carnival Cruise lines (it was created by his dad). This is his personal 200 foot boat, bought for a measly $50 Million dollars. Arison is currently worth $8.4 Billion and I should mention, he owns the Miami Heat too.


Okay, back to the real world. I usually take launch photos out on the Jetty but due to clouds, I moved so I had more blue sky for rocket sighting. This is a photo of the clouds and some blue sky...


I have taken a few photos of this Navy ship, the USNS Waters. From Wikipedia: "USNS Waters (T-AGS 45) is a United States Navy vessel tasked with supporting submarine navigation-system testing and providing ballistic missile flight test support services. In 2011, it was homeported in Port Canaveral, Florida." The pier it is docked at is also used by the submarines when they are in port.


Looking a little wider angle, you can see the gates that protect the Navy harbor. I like to tell the tourists that the submarine just goes under the gate when it arrives.  You be amazed at how many people believe me...Small boat is someone fishing...


I was ready for the launch and the clouds were moving out into the ocean. This photo is looking East from the park.


And then at a few seconds left, the countdown was stopped. Then someone said it was scrubbed for the day so I decided to go get some breakfast...On the drive out, I stopped to get a photo of the swan that hangs out near the entrance gate to the park...


I guess the swan thought my camera was a gun and he tried to take off...


Fifty feet later, he was still running across the water trying to take off when I took this great photo...


I finally made it over to Grills, a dockside bar and restaurant that serves breakfast until 11 am. I got me some coffee out on the outside deck, and enjoyed the color temperatures October has brought and watched the birds but sad to say no boobies. I did show the waitress my photo of the swan and she said she was looking into purchasing one for a pond she has on her 6 acre lot. She said they were expensive. Personally, I have never gone swan shopping...


I posted my food on Facebook, and I had a brown bird sit on the deck rail and watch me eat. The whole time I was eating he was making bird sounds but I knew the rough translation was "Save some for me! Save some for me!"

I went to the port for a launch, and I ended up with a breakfast....Ha ha!

My last photo was of a pelican that was sitting near a large fishing boat that was getting ready for an excursion. He kinds of blends into the scene but I knew he was waiting for them to return with the catch of the day..."Save some for me!"


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