Family Vacation 2013

One of the many reasons I haven't been able to post much has been that the spaces between traveling for work or training were filled with vacations. Well, really only 1 vacation, but it was on top of the 4th, so it was almost like 2. So, what do we like to do? Well, my first two years at NASA, we were really too poor to have vacations. But, I was traveling to Cape Canaveral a lot to work on the shuttle. My wife wasn't working at the time, so the whole family(at the time, that was either only 1 or MAYBE 1 and a baby). We really fell in love with the area. It isn't like PCB. It isn't filled with college kids and parties, but it has all the amenities that we wanted. SO, when we were finally able to afford our own vacations, we returned to Cocoa Beach. We get us a condo on the beach for about 6-7 days.

What do we do? Not much. We eat. We swim. And the last two years, we have surfed. This year I took the GoPro out and made a great vid of our fun! Check it out! Best5Zach Family Video

Having kids raised on the beach is such a blessing. They seem to embody it so well. Now, imagine our surprise when even little Gavin fell in love with it. We literally couldn't pry him away from the sand. He would eat it by the pound! He loved frolicking in the ocean! It was such a site to see!
Things we did and places we went:

Florida Seafood for oyster shooters, crab, and other specialties. This is a MUST if you have kids. They are very family friendly with a great atmosphere.
Grills for fresh seared ahi-tuna po'boys, sushi, shrimp skewers
Milliken's Reef for a few fruity drinks and some dancing
Fish Lips for great appetizers and drinks specials while watching all the fishermen come in for the day

I know where the food is. It's a fact. My nose leads me to all the right places and you cannot go wrong with any of these great places to eat.

We rented our boards from Cocoa Beach Surf Company. For beginners, get the 9'2" foam board. Trust me. It's about $75 for 5 days, I believe. While you are there, head to the Shark Pit for an awesome burger or appetizer.

What a great time! I'm still not a good surfer and a bum shoulder didn't help. But Alyse and Josh have gotten quite good at it!