"Tell Me Why"

 It was cloudy in Melbourne and there was a SpaceX launch at a reasonable time; that is not in the middle of the night or after sunset. I wanted to get some pictures, but Tell Me Why I should drive all the way to Jetty Park and found out it was just as cloudy there. In reality, I just wanted to get out of the house so decided to drive up.

First, they are making A1A hell going through Cocoa Beach. The speed limit has dropped from 35 mph to a new 30 mph. Also, for some insane reason, they are starting to put in speed bumps. Not sure why but maybe it is too expensive to have cops patrolling the roads. Regardless, the trip is going to be about 10-15 minutes longer for me.

I got to the Port and it was cloudy. This is looking South from the fishing walkway at Jetty Park.

But it did clear up some to the North so I could see the beginning of the launch. It was right on time a 1:53 PM. The Falcon 9 is about 230 feet long so that is a big flame...

The clouds did add a little contrast to the pictures...

It was a beautiful launch...

Then the rocket went into the clouds so we could not see the Stage 1 rocket (the one that lands) separate from the Stage 2 rocket. Being there you do get to hear the rumble...

Before the launch, I took some photos. There was a Snowy Egret setting on the rail watching the fisherman. I went over to talk to the guy sitting, in the yellow shirt. He said he had caught a few small mullets, and shared them with the egret. I guess the egret was hopeful.

I took a few shots of the snowy egret with different boats passing by in the background. I liked this one.

Off of the beach, there is a big rig. I saw on the news it is part of the Cocoa Beach replenishment project. That is not an oil rig, but a big suction system that pulls sand from offshore and sends it through a pipeline to the beach where heavy equipment spreads it along the coast. The news said it would be completed by the end of March.

There was only one cruise ship at the Port, the MSC Meraviglia , and it was just making a Port of Call at Terminal 3, where the Big Carnival ships normally dock. There were lots of people disembarking and walking to Jetty Park. From Wikipedia:

MSC Cruises (Italian: MSC Crociere) is a Swiss-Italian global cruise line based in Geneva, with operations offices in Naples, Genoa and Venice. It was founded in 1988 in Naples, Italy, as part of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).

When I took the ship photo, I noticed that the egret was not moving no matter how many people...

I always like getting a shot of the green sea turtle coming up for air...

And a few minutes before the launch a cormorant popped up in front of me.

The cormorants dive to do their fishing, and can be under for a bit and pop up 10 yards away...

This guy got a small fish...

Well, I was a little hungry too so I headed over to one of my favorites at Port Canaveral..

I ended up just ordering a cup (not bowl) of New England Clam Chowder. It is one of the best in Brevard County and has lots of clams in it. The beer was a Kona Big Wave and I had just the one.

Tell Me Why I went...to get these great photographs...

About Title

"Tell Me Why" is a song by English rock band the Beatles from their album A Hard Day's Night. In North America, it was released on both the American version of A Hard Day's Night and the album Something New. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was written by John Lennon in either Paris or New York City, and recorded in eight takes on 27 February 1964.

Paul McCartney said:

I think a lot of these [Lennon's] songs like "Tell Me Why" may have been based in real experiences or affairs John was having, or arguments with Cynthia [Lennon’s wife] or whatever, but it never occurred to us until later to put that slant on it all.

The song is in the key of D major. John, Paul, and George sing a three-part harmony. In the chorus, John's lead vocal part sits higher than George's, and more unusual in this case, Paul's harmonies.