theDIBB - Team Bricki's Super Secret Magical Wedding and Honeymoon Adventure- Day 1 KSS& Boma Sat 4th May 2019

Today was to be one of many very early starts but we were too excited to notice- i am so glad we walk to work and have a home gym as it really helped our fitness and tiredness levels for the trip. I was so grateful we managed to beat the jet lag as we both woke up at 5am when our alarm went off! The plan today was Kennedy Space Centre- a big must on Brett's bucket list as he loves all things NASA and space. Brett wanted to see the main parts of the exhibit- Atlantis, the bus tour, the rocket garden and hopefully see an astronaut. We were getting the bus from All Star Music at 8.05am but decided to set off a bit earlier and get breakfast from the food court. I had a Mimosa and the Bounty Platter and Brett had a Backstage Pass (chocolate milkshake with Bourbon) and Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Bacon and Sausage. Both decent size portions and a good use of a QS credit that would keep us going nicely until dinner.

The bus arrived on time and we were off on the hour long journey to Cape Canaveral. The tour guide was really good and very helpful in advising which sections to do first. He said it was impossible to do it all in one day and so to start with the bus tour and then Atlantis as they both take a couple of hours each then try do two or three of the other areas and then the Rocket Garden on the way out. So that's what we did. We arrived and went straight to the bus tour, which was already showing a 30 minute wait but it arrived in around 10 minutes. The bus tour takes you on a tour of the NASA facility and lets you have a look in the restricted areas of the site. You can see the vehicle assembly building and launch complex. There is a video explaining everything as you go round and interviews with workers.

You end up at the Apollo building where they tell you all about Apollo 8 through films and they even have the genuine launch consoles from the official mission. At the end there is a building holding all the official rockets. The size of them was mindblowing- i expected them to be big but they were off the scale.

We went into the gift shop and Brett found the one thing i know he was desperate to buy- an official NASA replica jacket. I told him to try one on but he was reluctant to spend $80 on day one. I said there was no way we were leaving without it but he still needed convincing even though i know he wanted it. I said i had cancelled my mobile spray tan for the wedding as 1) it was silly money at $65 plus tip and 2) my wedding look needed pale skin (my vision for the day was 1960s Audrey Hepburn) so technically we had an extra $80 in the pot that i had forgotten about. This was probably the best purchase of the holiday- these pictures make my heart melt, i could tell how happy he was and how he had ticked off so many things off his bucket list.

We got the bus back to the main complex and hit the Atlantis exhibit. There was another really interesting film at the beginning explaining about the history of the journey to get Atlantis built and into space. At the end the screens open and the Atlantis shuttle is there in all its glory.

We had a look round the area and learned about what the astronauts have to go through in space and what the pilots seats look like.

Brett had a go on the space slide (i need to work out how to post videos so will add this later)

We went into the memorial gallery which showed the lives of all the people who died in space. It was really moving. We went onto the shuttle simulator, which was really similar to Mission Space at Epcot. Brett wasnt keen when we first sat down but he loved it once we set off. I on the other hand hated it, i love rollercoasters but the spinning simulators are not for me.

We then went to grab a quick snack from Milky Way Icecreams- a mint chocolate chip and cookies and cream waffle sundae. It was delicious and very bad for you.

Brett wanted to see if we there was an astronaut talk today and there was one due to start in 10 minutes so we headed to the theatre. The astronaut was Norm Thagard and his talk was one of the most interesting things i have ever had the pleasure of listening to. What a life this man has led- he is so intelligent! He has had so many high profile careers- doctor, scientist, astronaut. He did 7 space missions and a total of 140 days in space in his lifetime

We had a look round the gift shops and then took some pictures in the Rocket Garden before heading back to the bus home.

I must admit this is not a place that was ever on my list of places to see but i was very pleasantly surprised. It was such an interesting place and i really enjoyed learning about NASA and the space missions. Brett absolutely loved it, as you can probably tell from the pictures, he found it all so fascinating.

We had a quick shower and change back at the hotel ready for dinner at Boma. I had high hopes for this meal as there were a few South African dishes such as Boerewors stew, Bobotie and Pap and Chakalaka. The food smelt amazing and we werent disappointed. I just had the one plate but it was delicious. Brett managed two plates and left room to sample the famous Zebra Domes (i get the hype!). We didnt manage to take any pictures of the buffet as it was so busy and there was always a queue. We had a couple of cocktails, African Rum Runner, Raspberry Mojito and Watermelon Margarita. If i'm honest they werent the best but not terrible. Our server was lovely and brought us a cute little cupcake and a glass of champagne each for our honeymoon.

It was a lovely meal and a fantastic first Disney TS credit. We went to bed around 10.30pm. We had Seaworld on the cards in the morning.