Cocoa Beach with new friends

When I first suggested we stay at Patrick AFB in Cocoa Beach, Daddy was not too interested. I wanted to stay a week. He didn't want to go at all. In the end, we compromised and stayed for 4 nights, four glorious nights. But really, it was so nice having the beach of the Banana River right next to us and the ocean beach (midway between Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach) a couple miles away.

But the kicker for Daddy was the food. It's unusual for the dining facility to be open to retired service members, but this one was. I had never been to a military DFAC, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I have been in lots of hospitals, and it kind of looked like that kind of setup. There are stations for different types of food, some where it's grab and go and some that is cooked to order. The food was delicious and inexpensive. The four of us could eat for around $20! That's cheaper than a drive thru and this is healthier and tastes so much better. And to top it off, it's located right on the river. The screened dining patio allows diners to eat with a view of the water and wildlife. We always explored the beach and looked for birds after eating.

Above- Sea Slug    Below-whelk case with teeny, tiny baby whelks

Asher somehow managed to catch fish by hand! We ended up buying them their own fishing poles and they caught quite a few catfish. We found lots of horseshoe crabs, both adults and teeny, tiny babies.

After four nights, Daddy couldn't wait to come back. We ended up staying three different times over the summer.

Building a trap to catch and hold fish.

Our cousin, Ariana, lives nearby, so we were able to get together with her family a few times. 

We played on the beach and spent Easter together at a park near their house.

We were also able to watch a surfing competition and a rocket launch.

The dining facility has a model of the rocket that we watched launch.

We discovered this family of raccoons at the park. I really think the babies are half Chihuahua.

On our last stay we were there for nearly two weeks and ended up making lots of new friends. 

We became friends with the Carter family, which is nice considering that Journey "married" their son! She brought this flower home one day and said he had given it to her. Asher let me know that they got married and even had a pretend (air) kiss! Oh boy. Journey was quick to let me know that Asher also married the little girl who played outside our rv everyday. Ha! These kids!

On our second visit, I watched as Asher snorkeled with a girl named Olivia for a couple hours, while Journey played with her brother, Isaac. I later introduced myself to their mom, Jill, and when we returned for our final stay, we were able to spend quite a bit of time together. 

Spider crab

They came over for dinner, to swim and paddle board. They even had us over for dinner one night. On our last night, they came to say goodbye and brought their Bumblebee Python for me to hold again. 

That final week, Daddy returned from Cuba to find his children looking quite different. Asher lost his very first tooth on July 4th and Journey lost BOTH top front teeth! 

He also grew a bit of a mustache.

Our last few days we brought out the rollerblades and the kids bravely tried them. 

Three days later Asher shocked Daddy as he zoomed back and forth past the RV.