surfing are always close at hand when cooling off is desired. Since humans aren’t the only ones attracted to the waterfront, easy animal encounters are widely available too. You might witness bottle-nosed dolphins cavorting offshore; or, April through October, spy supersized sea turtles nesting right on the sand. At the sprawling Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, visitors can glimpse cool critters such as alligators and endangered manatees. Due to this barrier island’s strategic position on the Atlantic Flyway, hundreds of avian species flock in making it a hot spot for birdwatching as well.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL AT COCOA BEACH PIER
GET REVVED UP Ironically, the slow-paced Merritt Island retreat was designed as a buffer zone for the supersonic Kennedy Space Center, one of Florida’s most stellar attractions. The aeronautical equipment displayed at its Visitor Complex (ranging from a Saturn V rocket to an Apollo command module) is reason enough to visit. But the venue also manages to package science and history with Disneyesque pizzazz, creating virtual experiences such as mock moon walks, shuttle liftoffs and wild drives across Mars. Racier options await north of the Space Coast in Ormond Beach and Daytona Beach. FISHING FROM SUNGLOW PIER DAYTONA BEACH
ANNUAL EVENTS JANUARY Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Rolex 24 FEBRUARY Daytona 500 MARCH Grant Seafood Festival APRIL Cocoa Beach’s Easter Surf Festival OCTOBER Biketoberfest
2012 TRAVEL GUIDE TO FLORIDA
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