Daytona

I had a choice today of cruising west to Tampa, or east to Daytona Beach. I thought Tampa deserved more than just a day trip, so I went to Daytona Beach instead.

Welcome!

No beach in sight... it is another six miles or so. This sign is on a pedestrian bridge that leads to the Daytona International Speedway parking lot. It is absolutely enormous, each grandstand is gigantic. I guess this makes sense as the track is a 2.5 mile oval and the entire facility can seat a total of 168,000 people.

Sand Sign

Thank goodness for this warning - I would never have suspected! OK, all joking aside - apparently Daytona allows cars to drive on the beach in some areas. I'm sure every once in a while someone gets stuck in a dune and needs to be towed out. This of course should be as humiliating as possible for the affected person.

Atlantic Ocean

Just me and the birds in this section. In another six to eight weeks, this area will probably be crushed under a sea of humanity - students on their spring break.