Well this morning was decision time, do we go to Disney or not. Both Roger and I are tired from being on the road and the thought of crowds and line ups did not thrill us at this stage of our trip. We also looked at our budget with the cruise thrown in and although it was temping to go we decided Mickey Mouse will have to wait another year. It was almost a relief not having to put out all the energy required to do the Disney experience.
We packed up and headed up the I- 95 towards Daytona Beach. Our first stop was at Smyrna Beach, a lovely resort area that is quaint and charming. We drove through the city and over a bridge to a magical area stuck in a time warp. It was great. You could even drive on the beach there like in the old days. Surfers were in the water, people walked along the beach; there was even the beach patrol truck with 2 surf boards on top. We drove down onto the beach and followed the sand road for a while, stopping to take pictures and be the real tourists. The wind was wicked today and the surf was high not to mention the cold air off the ocean. We asked around and I guess this cool weather is really unnatural for this time of year. It was only 16 c. today. A shock for us, brrrrrrr.
Next stop Daytona Beach. The long white beach also has a portion that can be driven on as the sand is very hard. We found the Le Ponce lighthouse and Viewpoint Park and stayed until sunset out on the wharf taking pictures and enjoying the beauty of the ocean. This time we had on warm jackets though. Even in the cool weather people were fishing, walking and biking on the pier.
We were lucky to find a hotel as I guess this is the start of speed week at the raceway. There are races all weekend including the qualifier for the Daytona 500. Unfortunately, we will not be able to tour the race way because of the upcoming races. We are going to go over to the track tomorrow just to take a look at it before we leave. This is a really nice area and I would consider coming back here again in slightly warmer weather.
Hope you are all staying warm.
Cheers!
glad you had a chance to see the space station. When we went I didn't think I'd like it that much, but really enjoyed it. We wished that we had had more time for the nature preserve and seeing all the wild life. Glad you saw some of it. Did you see any armadillos? So much to take in.
ReplyDeleteIsn't driving on the sand fun?
Love the silhouette photo.
ReplyDeleteHi mom and dad...lol the picture of dad is priceless gotta love it! Mike and Gavin would love to hear that you guys are in Daytona during such a big event!
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