Yes, we are in America!!! All on our own keel and we are quite proud of that. What a country! We have both been here before, so it is not unknown. But as part of this trip, compared to all the other destinations, the typical American experience seems even more emphatic to us. It was therefore nice to read the book 'In alle Staten' by Max Westerman in preparation. We were amazed .... BIG, BIG, everything is big and vast and everything is far apart and without a car you are nowhere. And there are plenty of them around, especially those big, tall cars. Almost no European brand, only Americans and Japanese. Even shopping, from shop to shop can only be done by car. And what strikes us immediately ... the people are very friendly and helpful. Yes, again a complete different world than the Bahamas. Very civilised, and that is also nice to experience for a change.

After a great trip of about 45 hours, we arrive at the Cape Canaveral Inlet on Saturday afternoon, April 3. On our way there, we had a strong current of about 4 knots, caused by the warm Gulf Stream that runs in front of Florida and all the way to Europe. This Gulf Stream is really warm, quite a few degrees warmer than the water outside, and thus provides the heating of Europe. Because it flows so hard to the north it is important not to have a strong wind and certainly not from the north, because then there can be a nasty sea with high waves. For us the conditions are very favorable .... weak wind (force 3) from the east, so doable. The last few hours the wind disappears and we use the engine. Just before we enter the Gulf Stream we are called by the US coastguard in the middle of the night. "Vessel with coordinates, this is US coastguard". Toine is asleep, it's my watch so I respond nicely. We just have to keep sailing and do nothing. They will pass us on the port side at 2 miles distance. We see them sailing a little later and expect them to come aboard with small boats, but nothing further happens, so fortunately no hassle in the middle of the night.

At the entrance of Cape Canaveral we can already see the launch pads. Very impressive! Also two large cruise ships are approaching us and sail right past us. What a big things they are! One of these ships we met the night before when he just left the Bahamas and was on our course. We called him and he said he would adjust his course and pass us on the starboard side. Well, that big one just gives way to the Brandaan! The bridge opened nicely for us and we had to go through a lock ... Vlissingen wasn't the last after all and there were even dolphins swimming in the lock. Harbour Town Marina is a great marina with a swimming pool, in the middle of nature with the amusement parks of Orlando just an hour's drive away. Here too the dolphins swim around and we also see a manatee! There are supposed to be crocodiles as well, but we haven't seen them yet.

On Easter Sunday we go to school first thing in the morning (yes, we don't pay much attention to weekends and holidays anymore, we have been away from school so often that we have appointed the days that we are just on the boat as school days and then we manage well!) Toine rents a car ... it does not cost much here and he comes back with a big Ford, so at least we can keep up with the rest ;-). In the afternoon we go to the Kennedy Space Center where we learn all about rockets to the moon and space shuttles that go to the International Space Station (ISS) in space. Very nice to learn so much before the launch. The best part is the simulation of a launch. Then you sit in a cabin and experience a launch fairly realistically. The girls are also very impressed and spend the rest of the day drawing and constructing rockets. Once back on the boat we sail to an anchorage a bit further, from where we have an excellent view of the launching platform with the Discovery on it.

The launch the next morning is a very impressive sight! The whole evening and night we see the space shuttle well lit and we know they are refueling and that the crew (4 men and 3 women) will come on board 3 hours before the launch. More and more parts are disconnected until it's completely loose around 6 o'clock. Via the radio we hear that every preparation phase gets a 'GO' and also that very coincidentally the ISS passes by at high altitude. That looks like a bright fast moving star, never seen before. Then the countdown to 0... and there it goes! At first we only have a view; a brightly lit rocket with enormous flames rising into the sky below. Only one minute later (we are 25 km away) the sound comes, an enormous thunder and the vibrating of the ground that we can feel even on the boat. After 2 minutes the 2 booster rockets are launched and because of the good clear weather we can see them fall off. In total the shuttle is in sight for over 6 minutes and then it's gone. Wow, what a great experience!

We go back to the marina and go out for clearing and shopping. Clearing goes very smoothly. We called on Saturday and passed on some information. Now we have to show our faces at Customs and Immigration in Cape Canaveral harbour with our passport and visa and fill in the white card. Without visa we would not have been able to enter, even if we stay less than 90 days. That is only possible if you enter the country by plane or ferry. And then off to the supermarket .... a SUPER SUPER market. We're not used to so many choices anymore. We can't believe our eyes, everyone's cheering in the shop and as a result we leave with 2 full carts.

One of thehe reason we are in Florida is to visit the amusement parks near Orlando. There are many Disney- and other amusement parks here and you can easily spend two weeks including hotel stays. But that is too much of a good thing for us. We have already seen the Kennedy Space Center and choose for a day at Disney Magical Kingdom and a day at Sea World. When we walk into Disney, Toine says "this is exactly Paris" ..... ;-). We spend a full day there until late at night and we really enjoy it. The girls have exactly the right age so we can in all the fun attractions as Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. With here and there a 'fastpass' it is despite the huge crowds (it is Easter holiday here) still doable. We feel we get the maximum out of it in one day and then we've seen everything we wanted to see.

The next day we stay on the boat for a 'homely' day with school, cleaning, washing, internet, skype, shopping and nice drinks and food on the boat. The girls had gotten a Jack Sparrow pirate outfit in Disney and walk around all day as Jack Sparrow and make the docks unsafe. Thursday, April 6 we go to Sea World. A very nice park with orca, dolphin and sea lion shows, three challenging roller coasters and a trip by helicopter to the North Pole (simulation). Spaciously set up with in between several aquariums, shops and restaurants. Not nearly as busy as Disney and again a day filling. Nice shows can make those Americans. Still the Dolfinarium is not inferior, except for the roller coaster-attractions.

Today is another domestic day. Eline is not quite good (something eaten wrong?) and takes it easy. Nice skype with fam Geboers, Danschutter and Pieter/Eline. Furthermore some shopping, internet business and then another day is over. The new membranes for the watermaker have been sent from the Netherlands and will arrive next Tuesday. This means that we will stay here until then and that we will only continue our voyage next Wednesday. We then make use of the car for a while and plan to visit the Everglades in the south of Florida.

For now we wish everyone a very good weekend and see you next week!