The Wandering Disciple

Bradenton, Florida: Three attractions in one, the South Florida Museum is a working history museum, aquarium and planetarium. The two story museum is home to historical collections from early Manatee county as well as the Parker Manatee Aquarium and the Bishop Planetarium. Founded in the 1946, the South Florida Museum was originally located on the Memorial Pier in Bradenton. The museum continued to grow and was later relocated to its current location in 1966. Upon the relocation, the Bishop Planetarium was added. The museum grew again in 1980 with the addition of the Spanish Plaza. Then in 1993 a 60,000 gallon tank was added for Snooty the Manatee and the Parker Manatee Aquarium opened. In 1998, the museum suffered a fire destroyed the planetarium as well as the administrative offices of the museum as well as causing severe damage to a newly renovated education wing. The areas were rebuilt and reopened fully by 2005. The museum takes visitor’s on a journey through the history of...

Titusville, Florida: The American Police Hall of Fame and Museum is a tribute to the nation’s law enforcement. It is part museum, part memorial and part working training grounds the museum is a great place to pay respects to those in uniform or learn a little about the history of law enforcement. Founded in 1960, the museum was the nation’s first national museum. Originally located in Miami, the museum was relocated to its present day location in Titusville in 2003. Its current location houses a museum dedicated to the history of law enforcement, a memorial to all the officers killed in the line of duty, an indoor shooting range and is home to the National Association of Chiefs of Police and the American Federation of Police & Concerned Citizens. The museum features several exhibits chronicling the history of law enforcement. After being greeted by Robocop, guests can view the following exhibits: • Auto Alley: collection of police cars from Florida agencies as well as the car...

Titusville, Florida: Adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center sits the US Astronaut Hall of Fame. The museum features a collection of personal items from the space program as well as equipment, interactive exhibits and simulators, and the Hall of Fame itself. Two of the more popular artifacts on display are he Mercury Sigma 7 spacecraft and a space suit worn by Gus Grissom on board Mercury 4. The Hall of Fame was created by a vision of the surviving astronauts of Mercury Seven. They wanted a place for past astronauts to be honored and the resulting hall of fame opened in 1990 and was run by the US Space Camp Foundation in conjunction with the Space Camp Florida. The Hall of Fame remained opened until 2002 when it was forced to close to low attendance. The museum was auctioned off through foreclosure and was purchased by Delaware North Services, the operators of the visitor complex at Kennedy Space Center. It was added as part of the visitor complex attraction and reopened to the pu...

Titusville, Florida: We began the day by heading back over to the port to check out what ships have arrived overnight. The port was busy with activity as three ships were docked and prepping for their next cruise. Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas, Disney Wonder and Carnival Sensation were all in port Sunday morning. When we returned to the hotel we headed to Flamingo’s Restaurant, the onsite restaurant. There they were serving a breakfast buffet consisting of an omelet station, breakfast meats, cereal and fresh fruits. We ate a delicious breakfast and toured the hotel grounds before loading up the car and heading back to the Kennedy Space Center. We checked the dogs back into the kennel at KSC and began our tours for the day. We started out by visiting the US Astronaut Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a collection of space memorabilia, Hall of Fame display and interactive experience allowing guests to get a real life feel of life as an astronaut. The museum contains fligh...

Cocoa Beach, Florida: This coastal town located along Florida’s Atlantic coast is home to one of the Space Coast most popular beaches. Home to some of the best surfing waves in Florida, Cocoa Beach is known as the Jewel of the Space Coast. The areas first residents were a family of free slaves from the Civil War. The land was then purchased by a group of investors from Cocoa and eventually founded into the Town of Cocoa Beach in 1925 which was later incorporated into a city by 1957. The population continued to grow and by the 60’s had increased over 1000%. Much of the growth had been contributed to the space program and nearby Kennedy Space Center. But just as quickly as the population grew with the program, it fell with the program. The city suffered a 14.3% unemployment rate in 1975 mainly due to the completion of the Apollo project and the associated layoffs. But the space program recovered with the introduction of the space shuttle and the city recovered. Today almost 12,...

Cape Canaveral, Florida: Just steps from Port Canaveral, blocks from the Atlantic and a short drive to Kennedy Space Center, the Radisson Resort at the Port is an ideal hotel for those visiting the Space Coast. Located on AIA in Cape Canaveral, the resort’s location makes it an great choice for a weekend trip or a stay over before or after a cruise. The Caribbean themed hotel features 284 guest rooms mixed between the standard guest rooms and Jacuzzi suites each featuring the Sleep Number bed by Select Comfort. The hotel is pet friendly and is also certified green by Green Lodging Florida. The lush tropical landscape of the resort is home to a family of parrots. They have come to enjoy the landscape that provides tranquility to the guest relaxing by the waterfall pool. The pool has a separate kiddie pool and a poolside tiki bar to keep everyone entertained. The Flamingo Restaurant features a full menu and a breakfast buffet. There is also a video game room, cocktail lounge, la...

Titusville, Florida: When most people think of tourist attractions in Central Florida, they immediately think of Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and Sea World. But tucked away on the Atlantic Coast is one of the area’s premier sites, the Kennedy Space Center. The Visitor Complex at the center entertains over a million visitor’s a year wanting an inside look at our space program. Operated by Delaware North Companies, the visitor complex offers museum exhibits, bus tours and interactive experiences. In addition to the complex, they also operate the Astronaut Hall of Fame adjacent to the Space Center. The complex features many exhibits once you pass through the admission gates. At the visitor’s complex you can visit: • Astronaut Encounter; get the opportunity to meet an astronaut from past space missions. • Astronaut Memorial; dedicated in 1991 the reflective wall displays the names of the astronauts that lost their life during the space program. • Center for Space Education...