We more or less lived in the Cape Canaveral area for 35 days.

You can watch our time living there on youtube – Playlist: Boat DIY Refit

Location(s):
1. Cape Canaveral – 1st airbnb location and most visited beach
2. Port Canaveral – location of boat yard
3. Cocoa Beach – 2nd airbnb location and dog friendly beach
4. Merritt Island – most of the stores we visited (Walmart, Home Depot, West Marine, etc)
5. Rockledge – location of closest ward (Rockledge Ward) to go to church and fiberglass store

Airbnb(s):
1. Cape Canaveral – “Old Florida” beach house 2nd floor
2. Cocoa Beach – Sunshine Island Beach Cottage

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What an unexpected place to call home for us in 2025. It was never really supposed to be and yet, we technically lived here long enough to have favorite beaches and a decent knowledge of getting around town without google maps. Our kiddos had a good chunk of Port Canaveral memorized and swam in the ocean a couple times a week. I was on a first name basis with the UPS staff.

We came here to launch a boat, not live here. That was never part of the plan. But alas, just like the ocean, owning a boat takes on its own timeline. We lived on the boat at Scorpion Marine boat yard for about 19 days, something we never intended. I think the workers both enjoyed and were annoyed by our presence. Do they miss us? Probably not. We do miss all our boatyard friends we made. We met so many kind boat owners also working on their boats.

So Cape Canaveral, Port Canaveral and Cocoa Beach became our unexpected home for over a month. When it came time to finally say goodbye to this place, we were ready to leave. This isn’t a reflection on the place itself. The eastern beaches of Florida have proven to be a wonderful home to our family. Life here is definitely different than Utah or Idaho.

The most unexpected aspect of this place was the feel that life moves slower here. It’s kinda touristy, with Surf Style shops and attractions everywhere (and dog hospitals), but it’s more of a tourist springboard to cruise ships. The days all felt long, not always in a bad way. No real traffic jams and even on a Saturday afternoon, Walmart was not crowded crazy busy. Everything just seemed in slow pace. It gave more sleepy surf town vibes than anything else. The days cooled as we moved from late fall into winter and our now acclimatized Florida selves were shivering in 60 degree weather. We blame the humidity.

We watched cruise ships come in and out of port every day. Their speakers blaring so loud we could clearly hear what the hosts were saying to the guests. We danced to their dance parties and rolled our eyes every time the Disney cruise ships played the Disney theme song over their horns. The soot from their smokestacks coating our boat and quite annoyingly mixing with the morning dew.

We saw several Space X launches – both during the day and night. Everyone except Josh was eaten alive by mosquitos and no-see-ums.

Places we visited here:

• Ron Jon Surf Shop
• Cocoa beach (dog friendly)
• I Dream of Jeanie lane
• Cape Canaveral beach (not dog friendly)
• Manatee Sanctuary
• Cocoa Beach skatepark

We were also able to attend the Merritt Island Rocklege Ward for a few Sundays. Josh had already been going before we arrived, so he developed some acquaintance relationships with a couple members. One even visited us in the boat yard.

Just like the vibes of this area – we weren’t quite tourists but also not quite residents. We hope if we ever return to this place we will be able to give it our full touristy attention. We have Kennedy Space Center, Universal Orlando, Disney World, as some ideas on our checklist. We are grateful for this rather sleepy place that saw us through so much stress and growing pains.