I’ve been spending the week here in Cape Canaveral, where it’s been a healthy mix of sun and rain (though the high humidity is constant!). My brother is visiting on a working vacation, and it’s been nice showing him around and getting a little work done here. He takes long walks in the morning and has probably seen more of the town than I have!

Before my trip, my wife asked me to find her some sand dollars while I was here, but after a couple of days scouring the beach, I only managed to find her a couple of broken ones. The best sand dollars (or at least the complete ones!) are usually found on the west side of the state on the gulf beaches, particularly Sanibel Island.

She’s asked me before why I like to come here, and I wasn’t able to give her a very good answer, at least not when she first asked. It was a good question, and therefore it deserves a good answer. It’s a dichotomy of sorts: I like to visit and spend time here and think of it often, yet not put down roots when I’ve had the opportunity to do so. I’ve been to many areas in Florida and along the coast, but this tends to be the place I gravitate back to.

The community of Cape Canaveral / Cocoa Beach is an interesting mix of sun, sand, space, snowbirds, tourists, retirees, and regular working people building their families and lives here. While most are nice, the beaches and homes and town aren’t the busiest, the richest, or the flashiest when compared to Miami, Tampa, and other hotspots on the coast. Surfing and other water sports are big here, even though the waves aren’t the biggest or most powerful, at least not like Hawaii or the West Coast. There are seashells, starfish, and other sea-treasures to be found, but not like on the gulf side or in the Bahamas. The people are usually friendly and laid back, enjoying the beach-life and the slower pace. 

As I’ve had some time to really think about my wife’s question (while on the beach, of course!), I was able to come up with some answers. At first, they ranged from the familiarity of the place to the beaches, the surfing culture, the weather, the nearby port filled with huge cruise ships, the beach bars and restaurants, and every tourist-trap in between. Not only that, but with SpaceX and NASA, the Space Coast is booming (literally!) with frequent rocket launches and a revitalized space industry. The sunrises are often breathtaking, and then at the end of the day you can walk down the street to the Banana River and see equally stunning sunsets.

However, the main reason I like this area is because on some level, it feels like home — even though I know it’s not nor is it intended to be (at least for me). This was the first place I moved to after graduating from high school and where I started out on my own. It’s where I’ve always been drawn to yet know I’m not meant to stay for long. Also (and most importantly to me), it’s where I started my walk, my journey with God thanks to a good church with great people over in Merritt Island. For those reasons, I always feel closer to God, His creation, and even people when I’m here.

However, even though this place feels so familiar after so many years coming here that it almost feels like home, I know that it’s not nor was it ever meant to be. For me, this is a place of peace and perspective — a place to pray, contemplate, and find direction again. A place to take a little break from normal life that’s more than just a typical vacation spot or getaway.

Over the last three decades since my first time here, I’ve found that a place loses its specialness once the familiarity sets in, for good or bad, and I’ve always been well aware of that happening here. Everyone needs their own “thinking spot”, and I suppose this is mine. When I’m here, I rarely miss a chance to see a sunrise, and I often get up extra early to make sure I see the best colors. I began writing my first book here more than thirty years ago, and it’s still one that’s dear to my heart (even though it never did well). Maybe I’ll even re-write it someday — again!

One time several years ago when I came back for a visit, the city of Cape Canaveral had begun promoting a new motto, “The Space Between”, meaning that it’s the “space between sea and sky.” That seemed a little odd to me, especially at first. But as I thought more about it, that’s been my experience here to a certain extent: a space between.

In different ways, this is my personal “Space Between”… the space between different phases of my life, of the ending of old things and the beginning of new ones. I came here when first starting out after leaving home, after graduating from college, after my divorce, and when life seemed to have gone sideways yet again. And this most recent visit is another entry in my story here, one I could share with my brother.

God is good, and He knows what we need better than we ourselves often do. He creates beautiful things and places that can reach us and speak to us like no others can. For some, that means the desert, the mountains, a countryside, the beach, small quaint towns, or even bustling cities.

For myself, that place seems to be here — in this Space Between.