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While you are taking
your vacation in one of the many Disney villas, Florida villas,
Orlando villas, Florida vacation rentals and villas near Disney that
are available to rent, and feel the need
to get away to a fabulous beach area, then Daytona Beach is just the
place for you.
At Daytona
Beach, you will enter a laid back world where you can don blue
jeans, wear flip-flops and eat at the fanciest restaurant in town
without a jacket.
Daytona Beach is a Florida getaway that does not put on airs and
graces. It is a place where you can relax and enjoy yourself at
your own speed. It is also a place where you can enjoy the finest
beaches, world-class sports attractions, excellent museums, and
first-class restaurants.
The beach itself is world famous. As soon as you put on your
swimsuit and step on the white sand, you will be in a different
world. Everything seems so calm.
The beach is
super wide, so wide and flat that cars and trucks ride on it. Many
years ago cars actually raced on it. The ocean is unbelievably calm
and very shallow when you go in and so you do not have to fight the
waves.
There are 23 miles of beautiful beaches in the Daytona Beach area.
As you look down the beach in either direction, it appears that all
of the waves are breaking in unison. This symmetry is intriguing.
The waves breaking slowly over and over create a calming, relaxing
effect. However, for those who to like to surf there are beaches
where the waves are high and strong.
There is also a boardwalk on the beach with some exciting rides.
You could spend everyday of your vacation on the beach and many
visitors do. However, there is so much more to do and see in Daytona
Beach.
The Daytona
International Speedway is a must see on your visit to Daytona Beach.
The Daytona 500 race is the most watched motor sports event in the
world when attendance at the track and television viewing are
combined. Estimated attendance for the Daytona 500 is 200,000 and
more than 29 million watch it on television.
There are tours of the Speedway, but that is only a small part of
it. Located at the Speedway is DAYTONA USA. This is an interactive
motor sports themed attraction. This is an interesting and exciting
entertainment experience for hard core race fans and also for casual
observers. It offers lots of fun for the whole family. In addition
to the thrilling interactive features, there are historical exhibits
such as the Goodyear Heritage of Daytona history walk.
A good place to start your visit to DAYTONA USA is by taking a 30
minute guided tour of the Speedway. The tour takes guests on an
open-air tram through the Speedway's garage area. The tour is
narrated and you see Pit Road, Victory Lane and the world-famous 31
degree high banks where cars race at over 200 miles per hour.
There are two new motion simulator rides at DAYTONA USA. These are
“Daytona Dream Laps” and “Acceleration Alley”. “Daytona Dream Laps”
is a ride that seats 32 guests for a full range motion experience
racing at the high banks of the Speedway. On the “Acceleration
Alley” ride you hop inside a racecar, buckle up and take a simulated
ride at high speeds that combines motion, video, and sound. Other
activities include going over the wall at Ford's 16 second pit stop
challenge to test your skills in a live pit stop.
One of the most popular attractions is the Daytona 500 movie, a
large-screen format film presented on a screen 55 feet wide and
almost three stories tall in the Pepsi Theatre. You see the movie in
the realism of 3D, and with the accompanying sounds you feel as
though you are behind the wheel of one of the racing cars.
Tickets for DAYTONA USA including the Speedway tour are around $20
for adults, $17 for seniors and $14 for children 6-12.
If you want the real thing, for an additional charge of about $130
you can first don a racing outfit including helmet. Then climb
through the window of a racing car on the Speedway track, strap
yourself in, and ride next to a race driver at high speeds around
the track.
Whether or
not you are a baseball fan, the Jackie Robinson Ballpark is an
interesting place to visit in Daytona Beach. This is where baseball
legend Jackie Robinson played in the first integrated baseball game.
The ballpark was built in 1908, seats 3800 fans, and is the Class A
affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.
It is also a museum with plaques and photos documenting the life of
Jackie Robinson. It explains Robinson's childhood, how he excelled
in many sports in college, and the humiliating experiences he faced
as the man who broke the colour barrier in major league baseball.
It also lists many of his accomplishments such as playing in six
world series and being voted MVP in 1949 in the National League.
But the one that tells it all, was that after Robinson's retirement
from baseball, his “number 42” was also retired by every major
league baseball team. It's a real pleasure to visit this historical
ballpark and watch the Daytona Beach Cubs play. Tickets are only
$5.
Another fun way to see Daytona Beach is by an amphibious adventure
on a trolleyboat. It leaves daily from the Ocean Walk Shoppes and
takes you on a drive through historic Daytona Beach. It then enters
the Halifax River where you are given a narrated tour of the history
and wildlife of the area with great views of the riverfront
mansions. The trolleyboat then leaves the river and drives you back
to the Ocean Walk Shoppes.
At the Ocean Walk Shoppes there is lots to do. There is a new
Bandshell featuring concerts with an ocean view and a beachside
theatre showing ten movies. There is also a delightful Bubba Gump
Shrimp Co. Restaurant for some casual fun, good food, based on the
Forrest Gump movie with plenty of Forrest's favorite fixins.
A visit to
the Museum of Arts and Sciences is a wonderful way to spend some
relaxing and interesting hours in Daytona Beach. All six permanent
collections are excellent.
The Centre
for Florida History collection tells the story of Florida's
historical and cultural development from prehistory to the present
complete with interactive features. It centres around a 13 foot
tall skeleton of a Giant Ground Sloth which was excavated in 1975 in
a fossil site called the Daytona Bone Bed. This huge vegetarian
could have weighed three to five tons and eaten a daily ration of
300 pounds of plants abundant in the area.
The Cuban Museum collection is the largest Cuban Museum in the world
outside of Cuba. It contains rare 18th, 19th, and early 20th
century maps, documents, lithographs, paintings, furniture,
sculpture, and ceramics arranged chronologically. Rare photographs
help establish a sense of time and place.
The Root family's
collection is not only interesting, but it also brings back a lot of
memories. This is an astounding display of more than 800 Teddy
Bears, ranging from seven feet tall to only a few inches in height.
Each Teddy Bear represents a different time period or theme, and
portrays everyday scenes such as a “Teddy Bear Wedding”, complete
with bridesmaids, grooms, and a minister.
The Root family has also amassed one of the most historically
important anthologies of the American soft drink, Coca-Cola, on
which their family fortune was founded. The collection includes just
about every conceivable item relating to bottling, advertising, and
consumption of Coca-Cola.
The Root's collection
also includes an impressive array of decorative arts, china,
silverware, and glasses collected from 85 of the nation's railroads,
hotels, and restaurants. Two actual railroad cars are also
displayed in this permanent collection.
There are still lots of other fun things to do in Daytona Beach. You
can spend an hour or two at the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse, and
climb to the top if you wish. It is the tallest lighthouse in
Florida.
Not far from the
lighthouse is the Inlet Harbor Marina and Restaurant. The seafood
is fabulous. There is a lot of freshly caught fish on the menu. It
is a nice place for lunch or dinner (they have sunset specials if
seated by 6 p.m.) with a lovely waterfront view. You can dine
inside or on the riverfront outdoor deck. It is casual dining. A
live band playing on the outdoor deck added to the festive Caribbean
like setting.
Greyhound racing is also another exciting attraction in the area.
They race at the Daytona Beach Kennel Club. Children are welcome
with a parent or guardian. |
