April 16, 2013 - Cocoa Beach, FL

Stop number one on our family cruise to the Bahamas.  The cruise from NY to the Bahamas with the Chaskelsons, Millers, and McKeons on board stopped in Port Canaveral.  My parents met us at the port and we went to the beach.  We just kind of found the main beach by accident.  Since we were fresh out of the north, and the sun was hot, we rented an umbrella and chairs. As usual, I didn't sit for more than 5 minutes and went straight to the ocean.  Started off body surfing with the kids and used the McKeons boogie board rentals for a couple of waves.  The surf was messy and about knee to waist with an occasional chest wave.  I had no intentions of surfing, but towards the end of the day, I rented a 7 foot long soft board for half price ($10) and gave it a shot.  The board was horrible, no rocker, no edge and heavy.  It gave me a good workout and I caught a bunch of waves, mostly after they had already broken.  Scott gave it a shot on the board with no luck getting up.  He needed a longer board.  Yes, that's him giving it a go in photo 2.  Heavy side current to fight. I ended up with a wicked sun burn because I didn't put much sunscreen on.  We went to Ron Jon Surf Shop afterwards and Ron Jons Restaurant before continuing our journey.