Dec 12-20 Key West, Space Center, Universal Studios

Dec 12-14 - A stop at Bahai Honda State Park which was hard hit by Hurricane Irma in 2017.  Parts are open now, but the beach is not what it was.  The water is still beautiful turquoise.  Key West is an eclectic jumble of shops, bars, locals, and tourists everywhere on foot, bike, or scooter.  We enjoy looking around and watch the sun set at the end of Florida.

Dec 15-16 - We visit Canaveral National Seashore and Kennedy Space Center.  A 2-hour bus trip takes us around the center, seeing the giant crawler, roadway, and vehicle assembly building where spacecraft are built and transported to the launch pad.  Back at the main center, we see moon buggies, moon rocks, rockets, the space shuttle Atlantis, as well as Orion and Space-ex space capsules being tested and used today.  There are lots of movies and displays to see, and we visit with astronaut Norm Thagard.

Dec 17-20 - To Kissimmee and Orlando.  Our first area visit is to Universal Studios.  We are disappointed that the backlot tour is no more - it is now mostly roller coaster rides and motion simulator rides.  Guy's highlights are Spiderman, Race through New York, and the Harry Potter rides.

 I enjoy the more sedate rides - Jurassic Park River Adventure, The Fast and Furious.  We both enjoy walking around the Harry Potter worlds of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.  Watching people (adults and kids) use their wands to make things move in the shop windows is fascinating.

The castle is lit up at night with a light and animation show that we really enjoy.  As the rain sets, in we enjoy the Cinematic Celebration, a music, water, and light show in the lagoon area.