The Kennedy Space Centre and Cocoa Beach

I may have never told you how me and Joni actually met. I was always a bit embarrassed to admit it happened on eHarmony (yes… one of “those” stories). But when I think back now, it wasn’t really the website that connected us — it was space.

At the time I was completely obsessed with the magic of it — the majesty, the beauty, the quiet mystery of space itself. Definitely not the rockets! I just wanted to experience the feeling of it, the vastness, the wonder. And then I noticed Joni’s profile said aerospace engineer. So naturally I contacted him, not for dating (that came much later!), but to find out more about space.

Of course, Joni’s reasons for wanting to go to space were totally different. He’s fascinated by the science, the engineering, the rockets — all the technical things I wasn’t even thinking about. But somehow our different versions of the same dream linked us up.

Fast-forward to now, and we recently went to Florida for Joni’s work conference. And on our few days off we did the two things that make the most sense for us as a couple: we visited the beach and the Kennedy Space Center. It sounds completely random, but actually those two dreams of mine — to go to space and to be near the seaside — have always lived side by side.

Cocoa Beach was everything I love: white sand dunes with just a little bit of greenery, like an unfinished canvas where I could imagine something colourful. And then suddenly, a huge rocket somewhere in the distance reminding me of Joni’s world. How random are we?

What surprised me most was how close these two places really are, not just geographically but in history too. Back in the 60s this whole beach town was full of people working on America’s space program. This is literally where astronauts came to rest when they were not in space! I love that.