Daytona Beach, Florida
A walk on the beach at dusk, with shadows encroaching on the dying sun.
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| Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, by DG Hudson |
Daytona Beach is historically known for having a beach that motorized vehicles can drive on in restricted areas. This is called beach cruising and Daytona is one of the few beaches that allow this freedom. The hard packed sand made this city a mecca for motorsports. The old Daytona Beach Road Course hosted races for over 50 years and was replaced by the Daytona International Speedway in 1959. Daytona Beach is also headquarters for NASCAR and the Grand American Road Racing Association.
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| Retro Hotels and Pier, Daytona Beach, Fla. by DG Hudson |
The Pier View
From the far end of the Daytona Beach Pier, the orange building on the right in the photo above, you can see the beach and some of the retro hotels. This was a choppy day, but the sky cleared with the wind. Some of the retro hotels in this photograph are no longer existing or need repairs. Storms in the area in the intervening years caused damage to the older buildings. That fact helps reinforce my belief that you should take photos when you can and freeze those moments for posterity.
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| The Modern end of Daytona Beach, from the Pier by DG Hudson |
Daytona Beach, the modern end, taken from the Pier. This was a blustery day, but warm. Beautiful. At this end of the beach, you can find the Daytona Beach Bandshell, the Ocean Walk Shoppes, and the Pier. The Daytona International Speedway, a little further down the road, has tours or you can ride around the track with a professional driver. Costs available online.
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St Augustine Beach, Florida
Located in northeast Florida, St. Augustine, founded in 1565 by Spain, is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental US. For two hundred years this was Spanish Florida. St. Augustine was first explored in 1513 by Spanish explorer and governor of Puerto Rico, Juan Ponce de Leon, who claimed it for Spain. Needless to say, the Europeans brought the usual disease and death to the local Indian tribes. For more information on the history, refer to the links below. Even Sir Francis Drake showed up here in 1586.
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| St. Augustine Beach, Fla. taken from the Pier, by DG Hudson |
St. Augustine Beach, in Florida is a white sand, crystal shiny beach. There were no amenities to comment on when we were there. Except, there were bathrooms. No 'fun stuff' lining the beach as there is in Daytona. Bring your own supplies.
Castillo de San Marcos is also located in St. Augustine, a fort with walls made of compressed seashells, which gave its walls the ability to flex, rather than shatter or crumble. Here's a link to my previous post on this fascinating fort. The photo below shows part of the fort cannon deck.
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| Castillo de San Marcos cannon, by DG Hudson |
All photos taken by and property of DG Hudson.
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Are any beaches in your summer plans? Do you love kicking back on the beach? What beaches are close to you, or if none, which beaches have YOU visited that stay in your memory?
Please share your comments, I'm always listening. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
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References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytona_Beach,_Florida Wiki on Daytona Beach, Florida
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Augustine,_Florida Wiki on St. Augustine, the town
http://dghudson-rainwriting.blogspot.ca/2012/09/cannonballs-and-shell-walls-st.html
DG's post on the fort at St. Augustine, the Castillo de San Marcos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castillo_de_San_Marcos - Castillo de San Marcos, Fort at St. Augustine, Florida
http://www.staugustinelighthouse.com/ St Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, another site to visit.
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