OT: Cocoa Beach, FL

[forestdepth]

Will be spending a few days out there. Any recommendations?

 

[thatsbaseball]

Old Florida, laid back and a little trashy.....it's great !

 

[Mobile Bay]

Will be spending a few days out there. Any recommendations?

On the way down at the same exit as the Big Daddy Don Garlett's Museum of Drag Racing exit there is a fantastic Cuban bakery that made the best croquettas I have ever had.

Kennedy Space Center is a must. If there is a launch, find out from a local the best place to watch from. Usually you can just pull off the road in the right spots and you will be closer than the official NASA viewing stands.

Daytona beach is an hour or so away. Definitely worth going there. Just a bit further north is Marineland which is now run by the Georgia Aquarium. Definitely worth going to.

Some parts of the Fl Turnpike do not accept cards still. So have some cash if you take that. I honestly can't remember if I ran into that south or north of Orlando. If you have never driven that before all the exits for gas/bathrooms etc. are on the left. Make sure you get back on driving the same direction you want to go. Make sure you have gas before you leave Talahassee. There isn't much between there and Lake City.

Unlike the Gulf the beach there has two tides and a good sized swing. So pay attention to tide charts if you want to let younguns go swimming. That's about all I know. I haven't been that way in 20 years.

 

[Apoplectic_Objurgator]

On the way down at the same exit as the Big Daddy Don Garlett's Museum of Drag Racing exit there is a fantastic Cuban bakery that made the best croquettas I have ever had.

Kennedy Space Center is a must. If there is a launch, find out from a local the best place to watch from. Usually you can just pull off the road in the right spots and you will be closer than the official NASA viewing stands.

Daytona beach is an hour or so away. Definitely worth going there. Just a bit further north is Marineland which is now run by the Georgia Aquarium. Definitely worth going to.

Some parts of the Fl Turnpike do not accept cards still. So have some cash if you take that. I honestly can't remember if I ran into that south or north of Orlando. If you have never driven that before all the exits for gas/bathrooms etc. are on the left. Make sure you get back on driving the same direction you want to go. Make sure you have gas before you leave Talahassee. There isn't much between there and Lake City.

Unlike the Gulf the beach there has two tides and a good sized swing. So pay attention to tide charts if you want to let younguns go swimming. That's about all I know. I haven't been that way in 20 years.

Get a sun pass - $5 and worth the hassle

 

[aTotal360]

There's a Chili's in an Office Depot parking lot. Highly recommend.

 

[mcdawg22]

There's a Chili's in an Office Depot parking lot. Highly recommend.

The Office Depot is closed it’s a Spirit Halloween right now but will be a Christmas Village in August.

 

[Mobile Bay]

Get a sun pass - $5 and worth the hassle

I disagree. Other then that one section every other toll does toll by plate that I have encountered. You just get a bill a couple of weeks later.

 

[Apoplectic_Objurgator]

Will be spending a few days out there. Any recommendations?

Don’t skip on the nude beach.

 

[DAWGS1.sixpack]

I would suggest The Hilton Cocoa Beach if you don’t have a place to stay yet. Great little Tiki Bar at the hotel.
LongDoggers in CBeach is good.
Going across the 404 bridge and just to the right after crossing over is Grils Tiki Bar in Palm Shores.
FishLips on the InterCoastal in Cape Canaveral is a great spot. Can watch the cruise ships come and go from there if they are cruising again ??
Haven’t been in a year and a half so there may be some new places I don’t know about.

 

[Mobile Bay]

I would suggest The Hilton Cocoa Beach if you don’t have a place to stay yet. Great little Tiki Bar at the hotel.
LongDoggers in CBeach is good.
Going across the 404 bridge and just to the right after crossing over is Grils Tiki Bar in Palm Shores.
FishLips on the InterCoastal in Cape Canaveral is a great spot. Can watch the cruise ships come and go from there if they are cruising again ??
Haven’t been in a year and a half so there may be some new places I don’t know about.

The party has not allowed cruising to restart comrade.

 

[johnson86-1]

I disagree. Other then that one section every other toll does toll by plate that I have encountered. You just get a bill a couple of weeks later.

It’s worth it if it just saves you one time waiting in line. Every time after that is just gravy.

 

[HomeBoyDawg]

Goes without saying that you have to get a Ron Jon shirt.

 

[atomic dawg]

Volusia County, the Daytona area, is the shark bite capitol of the world. Brevard County, Cocoa Beach, is just to the south and is #2 on the list of shark attacks. You would most likely be fine if you got in the water... but every time I get in the water there, I can’t help but think of that.

 

[Go Budaw]

It’s worth it if it just saves you one time waiting in line. Every time after that is just gravy.

Totally agree, and the bill they send you is a pain. Without the pass, you’ll get a bill and have to write a check for $3.78 to the state of Florida, and pay it through the mail. Total, unnecessary pain in the ***. Much easier to just get the pass ahead of time online and not have to worry about it.

 

[Mobile Bay]

Totally agree, and the bill they send you is a pain. Without the pass, you’ll get a bill and have to write a check for $3.78 to the state of Florida, and pay it through the mail. Total, unnecessary pain in the ***. Much easier to just get the pass ahead of time online and not have to worry about it.

Or you end up like a friend of mine who warned me not to get one because the government of Florida has $19 of his money they won't get back and he won't use.

 

[Mobile Bay]

Goes without saying that you have to get a Ron Jon shirt.

Those were cool back in the day. Now it's a chain. They are all over the state.

 

[johnson86-1]

Or you end up like a friend of mine who warned me not to get one because the government of Florida has $19 of his money they won't get back and he won't use.

If you really won’t go back to Florida in the next three years, then I guess it may not be worth it. We go often enough that it’s a no brained, but I think it’s be a no brained if you just went once a year.

 

[Awwhellnaw]

Lots of Yankees. Good luck

 

[BrunswickDawg]

I would suggest The Hilton Cocoa Beach if you don’t have a place to stay yet. Great little Tiki Bar at the hotel.
LongDoggers in CBeach is good.
Going across the 404 bridge and just to the right after crossing over is Grils Tiki Bar in Palm Shores.
FishLips on the InterCoastal in Cape Canaveral is a great spot. Can watch the cruise ships come and go from there if they are cruising again ??
Haven’t been in a year and a half so there may be some new places I don’t know about.

Longdoggers is good.

We went about 5 years ago and stayed at the Wakulla Suites - neat tiki themed hotel with kitchenettes. Perfect with 2 kids. All took a morning of surfing lessons for the hell of it. My kids ate that up, and were shocked when I got my *** up on the board on my second try. Ron Jon is a definite stop, and Kennedy Space Center is still cool.

 

[fishwater99]

Don’t skip on the nude beach.

Boom.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

I am pretty sure I paid it online when I got it from my trip to Cape Coral / Ft Myers.

 

[Go Budaw]

I am pretty sure I paid it online when I got it from my trip to Cape Coral / Ft Myers.

It wouldn’t let me pay online when going over the toll bridge outside Destin. At least there was nothing on the mail literature that indicated how to do so.