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Daytona Beach, FL
Travel Article
In late June we visited Daytona
Beach and surprisingly found a new reinvigorated city. We stayed one
night in Daytona approximately ten years ago and found it dingy and
rundown. Cars were parked all along the beach and we found the whole
atmosphere undesirable. Yet, lately in our travel research Daytona pops
up as a number one tourist destination so we just had to check it out.
 We
left Beaufort, SC and at Jacksonville, FL headed for the coastal route
A1A. We began in St. Augustine, which is a city we have visited many
times and absolutely love. We had lunch at our favorite restaurant the
Santa Maria, a pier restaurant famous for great fresh seafood and
feeding fish while you eat. There are trap doors along the windowed
room by each table. Servers bring a basket of bread and you can feed
both the birds and fish from your table. It is unique and great fun for
all ages. The food is excellent and lunch is half the price of dinner.
I had broiled scallops and my husband had fried shrimp. As usual in the
south, lunch was accompanied by great hushpuppies. The view from this
restaurant is extraordinary.
 There
is a full view of the marina, Bridge of Lions, and the historic
district. Interestingly, the Santa Maria has quite a colorful history.
In 1763, Francisco Jacinta built a landing so ships could tie up and
deliver their cargo. Through the years the landing has been a home, a
commercial fishing dock, and a restaurant. Owned by twenty different
owners to date several were rumored to be very colorful characters. In
1954 Louis and Marguerite Connell restored the badly rundown landing
and opened a restaurant. Unfortunately in 1964 Hurricane Dora dealt the
restaurant a heavy blow closing it for nine months. Last rebuilt in
1885 great care was taken to preserve as much as possible. The Connells,
who originated the idea of feeding the fish, passed away and their son
and their children now run the restaurant. This is a great place for
history, great food and fun.
 It
was a lovely one-hour ride down the coastal route to Daytona passing
through several communities: Ormond Beach, Ormond by the Sea, and Holly
Hill. The route provided a lovely view of the ocean and dunes the
entire way down. I highly recommend a trip on A1A. It is a charming,
relaxing way to begin a vacation. We arrived at our resort, The
Fairfield at Ocean Walk on Atlantic Avenue N right around check-in.
 One
important southeastern beach navigational tip is that coastal towns
have avenues N and S and sometimes more than one N or S. It can be a
bit confusing when searching for an address. Our resort was right on
the ocean and absolutely gorgeous. Our condo offered a fantastic city
and beach view from the 23rd floor. The amenities were incredible with
several pools, a lazy river, waterslide, Tiki bar and Jacuzzis. The
beach amenities offered ocean toys, bikes, chairs and umbrellas and
much more. Inside the resort were more pools, a work out room, office
center, activities center, a movie theatre showing new releases nightly
and a restaurant. Located just a short distance from the boardwalk and
pier made access to these attractions effortless.
We hastily stored our luggage and began to explore the area. A new set
of shops and restaurants had been built alongside the resort and
everything from braided hair and henna tattoos to Bubba Gump restaurant
and Starbucks could be found. We continued walking along the old
boardwalk and found a lovely Clamshell pavilion featuring
 entertainment
throughout the year. The boardwalk was filled with old charm invoking
many old beach memories. Little shops, food joints, and the
ever-present midway and street performers made me feel like a child
again. On the roof of the midway there were go-carts and two amusement
rides definitely not for the faint of heart. The Sling Shot was
comprised of two cranes and a metal ball with two seats. You got
it---they shot this ball into the air and it swayed back and forth
mercilessly. The Wild Thing was like the old carnival Bullet ride. The
hundred-year-old pier offered fishing, a sky ride and sky needle, photo
ops and my personal favorite, helicopter rides.
On our first night in any new city we try to find a few places with
local color. We found some good advice in a travelogue while
researching the city. Froggy’s Saloon was recommended as a popular
local “Biker Bar” and the Boot Hill Saloon was recommended as a local
favorite for entertainment and raucous party nights. Both were in
walking distance on Main St. One thing we have to say is that Daytona
feels like a very safe city. We saw many patrol cars and police
presence so walking didn’t feel like a problem. Froggy’s Saloon,
located at 800 Main St., was definitely a unique bar.
 From
the wide assortment of frogs and biker week memorabilia to Jagermeister
on tap, we got a modest glimpse of what a biker bar was like. A DJ
played music from a second story booth and there was a dance area
upstairs also. It was a quiet night so upstairs wasn’t open. The sign
over the bar said, “I’ll have what the guy on the floor is having”. In
the ladies room the toilet paper was hanging from fishing chains.
Leather, tattoos, headbands and long hair were the fashion for the
evening and most everyone knew each other. I would have to say that we
stood out a tad in our resort attire, but never felt uncomfortable. As
always we got into a conversation with the bartender, Karen a pretty
woman in tight hot pants with dollar bills stuffed in her shirt.
Incredibly she was born in Connecticut, went to boarding school in
Vermont, went to college in Boston, worked for a while near my hometown
in RI, and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Finance. She
worked for ten years in the corporate world and now lives in Daytona.
She laughingly said, “Boy, is my father proud!”
Our next stop was the Boot Hill Saloon, just a little ways down the
same street. It was also a quiet night but there was definitely
evidence this place could be quite rowdy in a different way. Bras hung
from the ceiling and photos all over the walls showed how they got
there. It seems it is tradition to flash the bartender in this
establishment. Our bartender, Mark was very nice and moved here
recently from Martha’s Vineyard where he was an electrician. We met
Eddie a business professor from Syracuse, NY who
 had
lived in Daytona a year and was moving to West Palm Beach to teach once
again. We talked for hours and then met Karen, the owner who was an
absolute sweetheart. It was a fun night with the locals. Just a note:
they do not take credit cards. It is hard cash only. On the way home we
walked the boardwalk again. It was so enticing with all its lights and
colorful signs. We stopped for a “Big” ice cream, which dropped down
the front of my shirt and shorts and all over the lovely red rose my
husband bought from a lady at the saloon. We laughed and laughed on the
short way to the resort. Thank goodness for the washer and dryer in our
unit.
 The
next day was Friday and our 27th anniversary. We did not want the
candles and white tablecloth kind of dinner so we did some more
research. We spent late morning and afternoon on the beach, pool deck
and in the pool. It was perfect. After showering and changing we headed
off to a place also highly recommended in our research called The
Wreck, Daytona’s Riverfront Classic. Also located on Main St (115 Main
St) it offers a covered outside dining deck overlooking the Halifax
River, Happy Hour daily and live entertainment. A motorcycle engine
served as the beer tap. The food was moderately priced and the service
was excellent. I highly recommend the shrimp skewers. It’s a great
place for your whole family.
 Next,
we headed to International Speedway Blvd to get the NASCAR feeling.
Personally we are not NASCAR fans, but this track draws any where from
250,000 to 650,000 fans to its races and at least deserves a look. Our
first stop was the Speed Park on 201 Fentree Blvd. The attractions
include Thundermania, Sport Grand Prix, Sprint Challenge, Nitro Alley
and an arcade. Next was Daytona USA located at the Daytona
International Speedway. The Speedway itself was mammoth and that is
even a bit understated. We could not get a good picture of it due to
its size. The stands were incredibly tall and the whole site just
boggled my mind. “DAYTONA USA, the one-of-a-kind, 60,000 square-foot,
interactive motorsports attraction, is the world-class showplace for
race fans to soak in the history of America’s fastest sport and visit
Gatorade Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway.”
Now I could get excited because we were headed to the Greyhound track
and I love the “puppies”. Daytona Beach Kennel Club is located right
near the Speedway. It is $1.00 admission and children are welcome with
an adult. As soon as we walked in the Club I felt the thrill of
excitement. There is an atmosphere of fun and intrigue and I just could
not wait to look at the program for the first race. I also love to sit
outside right on
 the
finish line. We do not know a lot about betting on dogs, but we used to
love to go to the races when we lived in RI. We know how to check out
their class, weight, past performances, etc. but in the end everything
is just left up to chance. Sometimes you are better off just picking
them by their name or color. I get the most pleasure hearing the
announcer yell, “Here comes Lucky!!” We won some and we lost some but
we had the best time. The skies did open up around the third race and
the storm moved us inside but the fun continued. It was a perfect
anniversary. There is also a POKER ROOM located at this Club offering,
“Texas Hold ‘EM”, “Omaha”, and “7-Card Stud” along with other great
card games. My husband would have been in that room in a second if it
weren’t our anniversary. The very reasonable table stakes are either
.25 or $1
 Our
last full day was Saturday and we made a full day out of it. We began
with a tremendous breakfast at the Starlite Diner right across the
street. For $5 I had huge servings of French toast, ham, and home fries
and I was full all day. We then relaxed at the pool in the lazy river
and even tried the water slide. After a shower and change we headed to
the pier for a helicopter ride. I have never been in a helicopter and
was thrilled to be getting this opportunity. A $25.00 ride took you up
one end of the beach and back down the other. We could see our resort,
the pavilion and boardwalk and miles of beach and water. It only lasted
10 minutes but it was one of the best times I’ve ever had. They have 6
tours to choose from including sunset and city tours. We then headed
back out A1A
south to Ponce Inlet. My sister recommend the North Turn Bar and Grille
for a drink or snack so we stopped there first. It is a casual
oceanfront restaurant with a 5000 sq. ft deck and an air-conditioned
dining room. Live music was playing and the deck was crowded when we
arrived. We sat back in wooden chairs and read the history of the place
while sipping our drinks and watching the ocean. According to their
menu, “This is the location where racing history began. The races were
held here from 1936 until the war, and continued with the first Grand
National Race in 1949 until 1958 when the races were moved to the new
Speedway.” It was a nice little interlude. From there we headed to the
Ponce De Leon
 Inlet
Light Station, a national historic landmark. The lighthouse is the
tallest in Florida and the second tallest in the nation. The museum
grounds take you back in time to experience life at this remote light
station in the 1800’s. The keeper’s homes and outbuildings have been
preserved and are filled with artifacts from maritime and lighthouse
history. There is also a Marine Science Center located nearby.
We were now starving and headed to Inlet Harbor Marina and Restaurant.
We sat on the outdoor torchlit deck watching pelicans and boaters in
the Halifax River. Many boats pulled up to dock to have dinner. It
brought back great boating memories. The dinners were huge and
inexpensive and the atmosphere was superb. The sun started setting and
the band began playing who could ask for anything more!!! We had to
head back to the resort because there was going to be a fireworks
display. On the way home we stopped at a very unique tobacco shop,
Tobacco Exotica. My husband entered the humidor as always and I chatted
with the shopkeeper, Cindy. She came from San Diego; lived in South
Dakota on a 600 acre ranch in the middle of nowhere and now lives here.
We also met three wonderful young men on a church retreat. They were
from Wisconsin, San Francisco, and Louisville. We had a wonderful
conversation and wished them well.
 Well,
I have to admit Daytona is a beautiful, vibrant city with fun-filled
days and nights. We were exhausted each night and fell asleep as soon
as our heads hit the pillow. We were totally surprised by the up-dated
look and feel of this city. Walking through the city at night was both
exhilarating and beautiful and the feeling of safety and security
enhanced the vacation tremendously. We met so many nice people from all
sorts of backgrounds who all seemed to be sharing the same wonderful
time. It also amazed us how reasonably priced everything was. We would
go back in a heartbeat and probably will soon. One other worthy note is
that the resort we stayed at is a Fairfield vacation ownership
property. Many other beautiful resorts including the Hilton Daytona
Beach Hotel, line
the streets and oceanfront of Daytona. It sure changed our opinion of
Daytona and I highly recommend you add it to your list of places to
visit in the future. You won’t be sorry.
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