Day 6….was rough. We had to be up at 0730 because there was something special I wanted to do that required us to drive roughly an hour away and we HAD to be there at exactly 11:11AM. In fact, it’s the ONLY thing that I had planned for the entire trip. TMI Warning: Starting around 0330 my colostomy bag kept filling up rapidly with straight liquid…not good. Every 15-30 minutes I had to deal with it. I also started to not feel good. The morning alarm went off at 0730 and I told Ky I was hopping in the shower first. During the shower….the other end hit…and I ended up puking in the shower. Between the two symptoms….it had to be food poisoning. The shower took an hour because I couldn’t stop vomiting. I finally made a mad break to the bedroom from the shower. By this time, it was 0845 and I told Ky we couldn’t go. By 0915, I felt woozy but I stopped puking and the colostomy bag output slowed down. Ky…bless her heart…convinced me to try going to our destination. I agreed that she should shower and we’ll reassess the situation after that. By the time she was done showering, I started feeling a little better. Luckily, I packed my chemo anti nausea meds in case I still had ill effects from chemo on Monday or Tuesday. I took a Zofran and I decided we could still make our 11:11 appointment and I’ll chance it. We left around 0945 and drove to Titusville, Florida to see the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch! It is carrying a space telescope built by the European Space Agency. We found a nice spot to park and walked to a bridge where we could see the launch pad across the bay. At exactly 11:12, the rocket launched away! We were still a little far away but I got some good pics of it and the best part was the rumbling rocket sound that persisted for a few minutes. It was amazing to see first hand! From there, we headed off to Cape Canaveral (where, when I used to vacation before cancer, I’d always stay) and got breakfast at my favorite breakfast place, Southern Charm Café. After a quick breakfast, Ky and I headed over to the OG Ron Jon’s Surf Shop to see how big it truly is… and I needed some stickers for my new HydroFlask. Kyley also wanted to find a Cocoa Beach or Florida sweatshirt too. We both found what we were looking for! After all of our morning adventures….it was time for a little ocean swimming on one of the most beautiful beaches! We swam for an hour or two (under red flag conditions) and it was great riding the waves. I’m happy to report neither of us got swept away in any rip currents however both of us missed spots with the sunscreen and have added a little more red to our skin. After swimming, we headed back to Orlando to shower the salt and sand off and decided to go get some supper at Peperoncino! It’s an authentic Italian place where the owners recipes come from her grandma or something like that. All, and I mean ALL of the staff were full Italian too. I have been craving pizza these last few days so I ordered a four cheese pizza to see how it rates with Denelies. I still prefer Denelies. Kyley ended up getting a risotto and she enjoyed it as well. Our last stop of the night was Walmart! Being our luggage was at 48lbs and we both have done some shopping lately, we got another carry on type luggage to put our new stuff in. Tomorrow….is our last full day here. I’m already getting kinda bummed out about that because when we get back, I’ll only have the 4th off before chemo on the 5th. This trip has been a godsend and other than this mornings incident, I’ve been able to relax for the first time in YEARS. Even when I’ve gone on vacation before, I’ve always had to bring my laptop and was always on call for someone…so I never really got to relax much. I can’t thank everyone enough for doing this for me, for us. While I’m starting to get a little sad, I have made so many amazing memories with Kyley by my side that I’ll never, EVER forget. Goodnight!
