Ice Skating @ Light Up UCF

I had forgotten how much fun ice skating is! I find all of the outdoor ice skating rinks that pop up every winter all over Central Florida to be kind of funny. It's typically too warm for the ice to stay properly frozen, so there ends up being a puddle of water on half the rink. For example, this was the case at the rink set up at the University of Central Florida seen in the video below:

Daytona Beach Cable Cars

I went for a ride on the cable cars at the Daytona Beach Pier. It's an expensive ride for what it is, and it's a bit scary, especially when you look at all of the rusted metal bits on the ride from all of the exposure to the salty air. I enjoyed my ride though:

Ares I-X

Possible shuttle replacement? I hope so!

Spring Hammock Preserve #2

I returned to Spring Hammock Preserve in Longwood on bike to find the boardwalk leading to Lake Jessup had been reopened. The water in the flooded swamp was pretty high, so it was a bit creepy riding on a narrow boardwalk, inches above the duckweed covered water. The whole time, gators were bellowing in the distance, just to add to the experience...

Cypress knees:

This little alligator was on a log about ten feet away from the boardwalk.

Finally, the swamp opened up to a marsh overlooking Lake Jessup:


Spring Hammock is definitely one of my favorite places to go for a bike ride!

STS-128

Space Shuttle Discovery launch as seen from Titusville!