Daytona Beach
Posted on 23. Aug, 2009 by Daniel True in Destinations, Slider
Daytona Beach has something for everyone. The Florida coastline city’s beach draws surfers and sun seekers. The tacky shoreline shops fill with family tourists. Bikers invade the place every year for a week of mayhem. And automobile enthusiasts come for the Nascar events.
Ponce Inlet Lighhouse offers stupendous views, and the attached museum is worth a visit, and the grounds offer examples of local fauna.
Daytona was the site of many early motorsport records when its long stretch of tide-smoothed beach sand hosted land speed runs. Today, the city charges a couple of bucks, but anyone can drive their car on the famous beach. No speed runs for you these days, though — on summer days, the sand is covered with thousands of people and a very low speed limit is strictly enforced.
When you’re in town, be sure to drive to the southern tip of Daytona’s beach and tour the Ponce Inlet lighthouse. The long spiral stair inside the historic lightrhouse leads to an astounding 360-degree view of the ocean, the town, and the Florida peninsula.
Northerners will be fascinated by the gigantic cockroaches that are common on nighttime sidewalks. Be sure to check out the various tourist attractions along the strip, such as minigolf and alligator petting joints. But the most interesting strip attractions to me are the surf shops. There’s nothing else like the earthy atmosphere of a typical Florida surf shop! The odors of surfboard wax, coconut suntan oil, ocean water salt and tropical heat mix into a smorgasbord for the nose. Looking at a selection of surfboards, especially in an oceanfront surf shop, always triggers fine memories of sliding down a nice curl off New Smyrna.
Anyway, Daytona and Daytona Beach are interesting places to visit. Don’t forget to try some local cuisine, such as roasted alligator or grilled shark. One of my favorite places is Crabby Joe’s, which is on a wharf over the Atlantic. Buy a piece of sharktooth jewelry from an itinerant vendor on the wharf. Visit a couple of surf shops. Check out the boardwalk attractions. Walk the beach during the day, and late at night under the stars.
