Florida's Space Coast & Thrilling Meetings That 'Lift Off'
Editor’s Note: This is a first-hand account of Clark’s recent site visit to Florida’s Brevard County. | 
Brevard Zoo
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An easy 45-minute drive from Orlando takes you to one of my newfound favorite places in Florida, an area known as the Space Coast. As the moniker implies, the Space Coast is the heart of the U.S. space program where every manned and unmanned shuttle has launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. And, also as the name implies, this area is home to the sandy shores of Cocoa Beach.
Invited to the area by the local convention and visitor’s bureau, I arrived at the Hilton Cocoa Beach and was immediately greeted by the smell of the tangy salt air wafting on the breezes. Located directly on the Atlantic Ocean, the hotel is the only property in the region that offers a secure network for meetings. Jason McKee, director of sales and marketing, explained, “Meeting attendees can set up their laptops on our secure lines much like a virtual private network that they have back home.”
Equally impressive are the Hilton’s 296 guest rooms and suites, most of which have stunning ocean views and include a separate floor for smoking guests. The 10,000 square feet of meeting space includes state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment. Throughout the property, flat-panel TVs keep guests informed of what is going on throughout the hotel. The lines between meeting indoors and outdoors are blurred as a newly renovated ballroom provides a Kodak view of the ocean’s majesty, and an oceanfront pool deck seems best designed for a relaxed cocktail event.
Cocoa Beach is home to the world’s largest Ron Jon Surf Shop. And, yes, you could just stop in for a T-shirt, but why not give a go at a surfing lesson? Our group partook, and judging by the smiles and laughter, everyone had a marvelous time. Surfing great Craig Carroll stopped in to give us all encouragement, and the instructors were exceptionally talented at working with novices.
Later in the evening, we took advantage of the beautiful spring weather and took a bioluminescent kayaking tour. Bioluminescence occurs in the late spring and throughout the summer when algae that forms in the waters of Mosquito Inlet and the Indian River Lagoon produces a chemical reaction. This reveals a twinkle in the water, much like a firefly’s glow. As we drifted in our kayaks, provided by Jim Dorocher and Donna Elms of Space Coast Kayaking, we spotted a manatee in the middle of the channel, seemingly curious as to what we were doing.
As a must-do when visiting the area, we toured the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral where its visitor’s center is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation that includes the addition of the Space Shuttle Launch Experience, an attraction that shuttle astronauts have said is the closest simulation of a true shuttle launch. Andrea Farmer, public relations manager explained, “We had true shuttle astronauts consulting with the designers and engineers to make this experience as authentic as possible.” We were lucky enough to get a sneak peak at the ride, and I can attest to the magnitude of force felt by astronauts during a launch. Also exhilarating, while I was there, the Shuttle Atlantis had been placed on the pad in anticipation for a June 8th launch.
Meetings at the center take on an out-of-this word experience within its two facilities available for events—the Kurt H. Debus Conference Facility, which can host events from 70 to 700 in a variety of configurations, and the Apollo/Saturn V Center. The Debus facility is supported by a full kitchen staffed by award-winning chefs and a complete multimedia system. The Apollo/Saturn V Center is home to a Saturn V rocket and has played host to a screening of “Armageddon,” a blockbuster movie that was filmed in part at the center. Along with the two IMAX theaters, groups can suit up for their own mission at the Astronaut Training Experience.
Unlike any other part of my home state of Florida, the Space Coast appealed to not only my love of nature but also to my intrigue of space exploration. After all, how many places can you gather for a meeting and then walk where U.S. astronauts ventured out into the great beyond?
