Vanessa Kaleiwahea

I am often reminded of how bad things are and how things can't get worse and on and on, but this week I have been reminded of how lucky I am to live in Brevard County Florida. I took a wonderful jog by the water down the palm tree lined road on the Indian River and saw a Mother Manatee and a Baby Manatee playing in the water while several Egrets looked on. It was something out of a post card. 2 days later my family went with some friends out for a fun day of boating and we were able to cruise down the Indian River, cross over to the Banana River and head north to the Port Canaveral Area to see the Space Shuttle launch. (Even if you don't have a boat or friends with one you can simply walk outside of your home or business and usually experience a shuttle launch for yourself.) It was so magical. We were able to see all the cruise ships from where we sat just off a beautiful island a bit north of the beachline highway, and our day was perfect. The weather was just right and we shared that launch with what looked like 200 other boaters and Kennedy Space Center enthusiasts. After the launch were able to boat over and have a wonderful dinner at a riverside resturaunt. We wathched the Charter Fishing boats come in with their haul and all the happy fishermen. Excited tourists leaving for and returning from exciting trips on the cruise ships coming and going were suprised how beautiful it was in Cape Canaveral. On the way home we saw several dolphins playing and following the boat as we made our way back , and we all were reminded that we are so very fortunate to be able to have this as our hometown. We in Brevard County have daily events such as this that we may forget to see as special and remarkable. We don't have to shovel snow, although we do occasionally shovel sand when when building a sand castle at the beach. We have beautiful sunrises, sunsets, and scenery that one would expect to find only on a postcard. To think that we drive, bike, jog and walk past this everyday! We have the exact things around us daily that other people have to fly to just to encounter it for a brief time. In closing I just want to say that no matter what I see in the news about the Real Estate Market in Brevard County and how everyone is in a panic I am just reminded of how wonderful and unique Brevard County is and that the oportunity to live here is truly a gift. I have never sold a home to someone from another part of the country that didn't have the entusiasm to remind me of that.