Where can you go to experience rocket launches, beach and surf vibes, and a set sail on a cruise?
Legendary Cocoa Beach on Florida Space Coast, the closest beach to Orlando,
and a gateway to Port Canaveral. I traveled to Cocoa Beach to record these podcasts,
and meet both local experts and fellow travelers, many families, solo female adventures,
and groups experiencing Cocoa Beach before and after their epic cruise vacation.
In the next three podcasts, we're taking you on a trip with the locals to this family-friendly,
great American beach, and combining food, outdoor adventure, and top tips for your pre- and post-cruise
adventures. In this first podcast, we'll cover great food, hotels, and art, and beaches to discover,
of course, including where to see those rocket launches. So let's set sail for Cocoa Beach.
It's the Travels with Darley Podcast, where we take you on location to experience top
travels with the locals as our guides.
My adventure to Cocoa Beach started with a trip from the Orlando International Airport
to the Cocoa Beach area. My consulting producer, Evelyn Kwan Green,
traveled with me, and we hopped aboard the Cocoa Beach Express Shuttle bus.
It was easy to find, and I'll cover that in depth in my third podcast in this series,
which covers lots of logistics and travel hacks for the Cocoa Beach area. The Cocoa Beach Express Shuttle bus
took us to our hotel, the Radisson Resort at the Port, located in Cape Canaveral, which is just
about a 10 to 15-minute drive from downtown Cocoa Beach. The shuttle works with a variety of hotels,
like Four Points Cocoa Beach Suites. It can also be booked individually too, so if it's not included
in your hotel or pre- or post-cruise package, you can book it on your own for more wallet-friendly
transfer. After arriving to the Radisson Resort at the Port, we got settled into the Tiki Bar
and poolside vibes before heading to downtown Cocoa Beach to eat. With access to 72 miles of
shoreline and lots of powdery sand, Cocoa Beach offers diverse dining options, many of them right
along or steps away from the beach, places like Longboard's Tiki Beach Grille and Castaway Beach Bar
bring beachside tiki vibes and you can find lots of local seafood, craft beer haunts, wine bars,
and casual and upscale dining, along with long-time vocals favorites, like Coconuts on the Beach.
Most of all dining here, as most people on Cocoa Beach would describe the area, is comfortable.
A top locals hang out is 4th Street Fillin Station in Cocoa Beach, where you can find an extensive
craft beer menu alongside tacos, vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, a house-made ice cream bar,
an indoor and outdoor seating to fit every mood. As the name alludes, it's located in an old
Mobile Gas station. Well, this was an old gas station. Had a beautiful oak tree in the backyard and
we just decided to make it, you know, like it was our backyard at home, you know, super comfortable,
super enjoyable, a lot of landscaping, a lot of shade, get the ocean breeze so it stays cool most of
time. That's Daniel Todd, 4th Street's owner and a restaurant entrepreneur who sat down with me to
share the inspiration behind this innovative and popular restaurant and gastropub, which offers
breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, just a block and a half from the ocean in downtown Coco Beach.
We had a bunch of tools that were left over at this place so we used that to make like tables and
used it in some of our like design and some of our detail work. We have shelves made of old tools
and car parts and a couple of the main tables in the dining room are made out of the car lifts
that were here that we modified and did some like custom art kind of customization to the inside of
the table. So we just tried to keep with the service gas station kind of theme. On my visit,
the staff is getting set up for a graduation party under the shade of the 100-year-old oak tree
outback. You know, the menu is set up so we can, you know, have a five-year-old's birthday party
and then literally we can have like a 75-year-old's birthday party. So we have, you know, something for
all the generations. So we're a big spot for celebrations and family gatherings, you know, when
there's kids and elders and young and old, so it's kind of neat. One of their best sellers is the
Mahi tacos, but many families with food sensitivities also flock to this Coco Beach establishment
because the menu caters to them. We smoke a lot of our own meat, so we smoke pork and our wings
We're known for our chicken wings. They're smoked and then grilled, so people love those, but we have a
big menu, diverse menu. It's, it's, we've tried to make it smaller, but people love it, so we just
started to get rid of items when people love everything. And you have plant-based stuff as well? Yeah,
yep. A lot of plant-based menus, probably 20% of our menus may be plant-based. How many beers do you have?
Usually around 120 and that fluctuates. A sweet gray hound dog is chilling by the
bar while his owner contemplates which beer to try. Dog friendly, yeah, we've had some people bring
chickens in and bunnies and pigs, so we kind of have to let dogs only typically. I had a, I saw a
chicken out on the road last night, yeah, like a guy with a chicken. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's
the same guy. Okay. Outside, I get to meet Daniel's daughter, who is definitely the apple of his eye,
before diving into a meal, and of course, a beer, so I can give a thorough review. The 4th Street
smash burger, chicken and waffles, corn on the cob, rolled in sriracha mayo and sprinkled with
chili powder cheese, cilantro, and lime. Are just a few of the specialties which catch my eye.
The chicken and waffles are super tasty. If you've ever been to Belgium or know about Leige,
you'll know that this style of Belgian waffle, which originates from the Leige area of Belgium,
comes encrusted in sugar, and I'm impressed that it's a Leige style of waffles,
topped with chicken here that makes the menu. It's complemented by spicy maple sriracha syrup,
cinnamon butter, and powdered sugar. As I look around the 4th Street Fillin Station,
I see a variety of cool art on the walls. Looks like it's made from old pieces of plastic and other
items, sort of in a collage. Daniel tells me that this art is actually made from trash, recovered
from the beaches and area waterways. A local artist decided to make this trash into treasures.
That artist is Cory Redwine, who is my next stop on this adventure. Daniel makes a call and
we're often an Uber, not far from Cocoa Beach to Merritt Island. It's located between Cocoa and
Cocoa Beach on Florida's Central East Coast, and it's home to NASA's Kennedy Space Center,
a National Wildlife Refuge, and a place where people can take those nighttime bioluminescent
kayaking tours. Cory Redwine has her home studio there. Corey started turning trash into art
a few years ago. Her home is eclectic with chickens, a pet pigeon, and a very cute dog. We head out back
by the water to a colorful picnic bench to hear more about her story. And where in Cocoa Beach,
you can find her art. I started with walking the beaches and my husband's a marine artist. I pick up
trash while we were getting our exercise in, and I started realizing that there were some fun
little plasticy pieces, so I'd wear a little belly bag and keep the good trash, if you will. And
Derrick one day was like, babe, why don't you make something with it instead of bringing it home
and putting it in the trash in the whole landfill? The pieces Cory collects end up being reused
and recycled, and you can find them in restaurants throughout the Cocoa Beach area,
including 4th Street Fillin Station. You can go to Rising Tide. I have a really nice piece in
their resties in the Port. I've got a piece in Grilles, and I'm going to be making a piece for
Sarah and Daniel's new place, Dirty Birds. We head into Cory's studio, but this is the she shed,
and here's some of some of my older fun art, right? Cory's holding up a large blue
work in the shape of a star with all blue tinted plastics from various time periods in history.
Used to be my husband's tackle room, not anymore. I've taken it over as you can see, but this is literally
all stuff I've found off the beach. Like look, tooth, tooth brushes. That's insane. She can literally make
anything look artistic. There are doll heads, combs, yellow plastic lemons and old ketch-up bottles,
baby shoes, all being turned into art. For travelers seeking art or eco-adventures while in the
Cocoa Beach area, Merritt Island is home to the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands and the Merritt Island
National Wildlife Refuge, with over 50 miles of trails that can be hiked or biked, back in Cocoa Beach.
The Cocoa Beach Pier is another great place to take in ocean views and check out surfers.
You can rent fishing gear, beach rentals and surf gear right there. Another fun attraction with
a great pier is Jetty Park and it's where we're heading next. Jetty Park is one of the most popular
beaches in the Cocoa Beach area with an ADA accessible fishing pier and 4.5 acres of beach front to enjoy.
It's located in Cape Canaveral. Evelyn and I walk through a sandy stretch of dunes down a path
to reach the beach. Now made it to Jetty Park checking out what the beaches at Cocoa Beach and
Port Canaveral are like and they're packed today because it's gorgeous out. You can go fishing here
on the pier. They've got boating, they've got bike rentals, you can do camping and the campsites
are right here right by the beach which is pretty awesome. There are lots of people out fishing from
the pier today along with people watching powerboats whiz by some of whom may be gearing up for Thunder
on Cocoa Beach. It's pretty cool to just across the water I spot one of the rocket launching pads.
Jetty Park is a great place to watch many launches. Travelers can plan to be here to watch
your rocket launch and then run a surfboard or perhaps grill out in the picnic area where I walk
over and also spot solar panels adding to an eco-friendly slant to Jetty Park. A campground nearby
seems to be a-buzz with campers and their RVs enjoying their own relaxed beach escape.
While many families seem to stay and play at Jetty Park, we also wanted to check out family
friendly and still wallet friendly accommodations in the area. So in addition to our hotel, the
Radisson Resort at the Port, we went to another locally recommended hotel. Family friendly fun is on
tap at Beachside Hotel & Suites, located in Cocoa Beach across from the famous Ron Jon Surf Shop
and Cocoa Beach Surf Company. I'm taking a tour with Suzanne McCarthy. Tall with long blonde hair and
hot pink nails, she looks beachy cool when I meet her in the lobby of this retro hotel from the 1960s.
It's been remodeled with funky colors murals by local artists and 1960s decor. Tell us what makes
Beachside Hotel & Suites different. Well we are the funnest hotel in Cocoa Beach,
that's me throwing my hands up. As I love when a hotel throws it down to declare that they are the
most fun and Suzanne strives to make the experience even more fun. We need this in our lives,
especially on vacation. We have a lazy river that we do dive-in movies in the evening with our big
projector TV. We also have all kinds of games for the kids on the weekends. Being Orlando's closest
beach, Cocoa Beach is a great destination for people to add on to the beginning or end of their
cruise and with many families hopping aboard Disney Cruise Lines from the Cocoa Beach area and Port
Canaveral, hotels like Beachside Hotel & Suites cater to these families with lots of activities.
16 different restaurants and shops that you can go to within walking distance from here. So it's a great
central location. We also do a lot of the Fly, Snooze and Cruise and the parking cruise packages.
So typically on average weekend we'll have a hundred in hundred out rooms for all the cruisers.
And then we have a mermaid show today which will be starting in about 30 minutes.
I'm not exactly sure what the mermaid show entails but I'm all in. Suzanne takes me outside to the
lazy river where DJ is spinning beach boys hits and kids are playing a giant game of Tic Tac Toe.
The song reminds me of the pop culture fame that added to Coco Beach's legendary Surfers Paradise
status, including references in songs like the Beach Boys Surfin' USA and films like I Dream of Jeannie.
I see hula hoops, bright murals and lots of tropical flowers and greenery amid areas to play,
lounge by the lazy river and even a mini beach complete with sand. We step over to the Tiki bar area
and head inside the duck dive bar whose windows are lined with yellow duckies outfitted with
Hawaiian necklaces. Inside is a large black and white photo showing what the old 1965 motel used to look like.
And it's the perfect place for me to grab a tall frosty drink. I notice that it's not just families
here but other groups and even meetings staying at Beachside. With a very tall drink in hand I head out
to rest in one of the large orange red or teal Adirondack chairs amid the sand listening to
the DJ spin tunes and literally taking a trip back in time. I awake from a mini rest to hear that
the mermaid is on her way to the pool. A man in a beach theme button down in sunglasses is wheeling
her over on a low cart, low enough so she could slide right from it into the pool water.
With her long blonde hair bright pink top and iridescent mermaid fins she's ready for her pool plunge.
About eight or so kids swim over to greet her relegating their innertubes to the wilds of the
lazy river. I can certainly see why families want to stay here pre or post-cruise.
Whether you stay and play at Jetty Park, the Radisson Resort at the Port, Beachside Hotel &
Suites or somewhere else, keep in mind that in the Cocoa beach area many hotels offer special rates
and packages year round to help families and groups save, whether you're seeking a budget friendly
or luxury property. If you're a veteran or AARP member or work through your travel advisor you can
also find special perks on amenities or other deals. The Snooze and Cruise package which includes a
one night stay and participating hotels and round trip transportation to the nearby Port
Canaveral for cruises is also popular for pre and post cruising adventures. Stay tuned for our next
legendary Cocoa Beach podcast where we're exploring downtown with the locals and other adventures
and events in the Cocoa Beach area and our final podcast will break down your best travel logistics
with travel hacks for pre and post cruising. Thanks for listening. Now it's time for me to get a
frosty coconut drink back at Coconuts on the Beach. I'll see you next time!