We were a bit slow moving out of Tampa and then moved even slower through Orlando as the traffic on I-4 East was stop and go for about 50 miles. What a tangle of cars and trucks for miles and miles around Disney World. We kept moving steadily and made it to New Smyrna for a quick stop and lunch at “The Fire House Sub Shop” about 2:30 pm. The subs were fantastic! And, just in case it wasn’t hot enough for you, they had 57 varieties of hot sauce to add to your sub for your gastronomic pleasure.
Then we drove out to Cape Canaveral National Sea Shore and poked around for an hour or so. It is a beautiful pristine place that was given to the Parks Service when the Space program no longer needed the expanse of land. We were hoping to see manatees or dolphins or even turtles in the lagoon, but the park ranger said we wouldn’t have much luck on a day as hot as today. It didn’t seem any hotter to us than any other Florida day. It was only 98 degrees and dead calm. But the weather app said the “real feel” was 105.
When we moved from the lagoon side to the ocean side, we saw some pelicans and I was again mesmerized by their graceful beauty and their unabashed diving beak first straight into the waves while looking for food. They are pretty amazing. I could watch them for hours.
From Canaveral, we drove up I-95 as far as Flagler Beach and the little community of Palm Coast for the night. The air conditioning at the hotel when we walked in was most welcome. And we rested from what seemed like a hectic driving day.
We went out a little later and found some dinner, and then as the sun set we drove along the coast of Palm Coast to see the beauty of the Atlantic shore at sunset. This is as far East as we will go. When we were at Canaveral, we were as far away from home as we will be this trip!