I didn’t actually lie, we just changed our mind. Ruth and I intended to go to Disney World on Christmas Day, but decided to pass as we drove into Orlando on Christmas Eve. Fifty million other people planned to go as well. I-4 was a parking lot, so we developed another plan. When you’re old and retired, you can do what you want, when you want. So we did.
After spending Christmas Eve at our resort location, we drove over to Cape Canaveral the following morning. I’ve never been before. You should go.
Our destination was the Canaveral National Seashore. According to Wikipedia, the Canaveral National Seashore is home to more than 1,000 plant species and 310 bird species. The park’s 24-mile-long beach is the longest undeveloped beach on the east coast of the state. The southern part is also known as Playalinda Beach, the middle section as Klondike Beach, and the northern section as Apollo Beach.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is located at the southern end of the barrier island, so access to the seashore is often restricted during launch-related activities at the space center.
The Playalinda Beach has 13 parking lots numbered from the south. The space shuttle launch facility is easily visible from the approach to Parking Lot number one.
We saw the Kennedy Space Center as we made our way through a couple of miles of “approach”. We could see a launch site, several tall tracking devices, and the large building that hosts the command center. It’s a restricted area so our view was from across a large swamp and bird sanctuary.
Our goal was the Playalinda Beach located within the national park. We knew nothing about it other than its location. We Googled our way from Orlando, to Titusville, across the Max Brewer Bridge, to Merritt Island, continued on for a couple of miles, and arrived at the park. We met a park ranger at the entrance. I flashed my National Park Lifetime Pass and continued on.
It’s a single drive that provides for two way traffic with a few turnoffs to stop to view the wonders of nature (birds, flowers, and the occasional gator). We made a turn to the left as we entered the area known as Playalinda Beach. We had an unexpected treat when we arrived. This is the welcome sign.
There are indeed 13 parking areas along the seashore. I made a beeline for 13. The path provided me with two opportunities. I could measure the distance from one end of the road to the other, and I could determine which of the 13 parking lots would best serve our purpose. (We weren’t interested in sharing our beach time with a lot of people.)
Lots 1 – 8 had no more than a dozen cars in each. Some had as few as six. Lot 9 was closed as they were rebuilding the wooden walkway that connects the lot to the beach. Lots 10 – 12 had no more than four cars. Lot 13 had two open spaces. I parked in one of them. Ruth took this picture as we exited the car.
The guy walking towards us was over-dressed for the occasion. We saw him walk off the walkway to the beach, so I can’t be sure if he disrobed and redressed, or he just took a stroll like Ruth and I planned. The guy in the speedo was definitely on his way to expose it all.
I’ve never been to a nude beach before so the thought of taking in a brief view intrigued me. I really didn’t know what to expect, but I decided to take a look. Ruth looked too.
As we approached the boardwalk, we proceeded with caution. We encountered a lady about five years our senior waiting for someone. We walked by her, and stopped our journey when we arrived at the small platform that provided an exit to the beach on both our right and left sides. We looked both ways and moved no further. There were about twenty people within our view. Most were men and all were naked.
The lady that we passed on the boardwalk arrived with a man that I suspect was her husband. They walked about thirty yards to our right, set up their beach chairs, and dropped their clothes.
I found the entire experience to be unremarkable. Most beach goers assembled in small groups or as couples. There was one man in his thirties that walked the beach alone, wearing nothing but a shirt. I didn’t understand the need for a shirt. He didn’t appear to be chilled. (If you know what I mean.)
If the guys that I saw had been one of the seven dwarfs, they might of gone by the name of “Droopy” or “Saggy”. There were no “Bashfuls”.
The women may have been 36s or 38s in their prime. On this Christmas Day, they were 47 long.
We didn’t stay long at “Boardwalk 13”. We drove back to parking lot 10 and spent about an hour enjoying the ocean. It was beautiful.
We returned to our Orlando condo and decided to make a return trip to the beach the following day. We followed the same path on our second day. As we passed each parking area, we noted that there were many more cars than there were on Christmas Day. “Boardwalk 13” was full and “12” was filling fast. Those stopping at “12” carried their beach chairs and sunblock to “13”
We didn’t return to the beach at area “13”. Once was enough.
One final word of advice. If you go, and you should, don’t forget your beach chairs and sunblock, but don’t take a camera. Your unencumbered view will burn its memory into your brain.