The Long Walk In Daytona Beach (Part II)

 

                                          There it is, the Daytona Beach pier, two hours into the walk.

   After a couple of hours I started to encounter more people than shorebirds, and far more vehicles and tents as base camps were established along the long stretch of hard sand parallel to the seawall. The beach gradually became filled with the clamor of voices and the low rumble of slowly moving cars and trucks (speed limit is 10 mph on the beach).

                                                               Let the party get started

                                  Some people are more dedicated to driving the perfect beach cruiser than others

   Beach culture is a little different on the Florida coast than what I knew in SoCal. For starters, cars and trucks. Oh sure, there are millions of cars and trucks in SoCal, just not on the beach (except for Fiesta Island in SD). 

   Beaches in SoCal tend to be primarily deep, loose sand, and that doesn't work well for most cars or trucks. But beaches along the Florida coast all appear to be hardpacked sand, which is great for parking cars and trucks on.

   It's $20.00 per day to park on the beach, btw, though annual passes are available - those are $25.00 a year for residents, $100.00 a year for non-residents. A bargain at twice the price.

   Second, there does not seem to be any firepits on the beach - maybe that's due to all the cars and trucks.

                 The Daytona Beach Pier - goal reached! Please ignore the swimmers ignoring the No Swimming sign.

   Three and a half miles into the walk and it's still overcast, though the temperature is near 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The beach is far more crowded at this end, though still not a lot of people in the water. For the most part it's people hanging out in cars, on tailgates, or under beach umbrellas and pop ups.

   The Daytona Beach Pier is close to 140 years old and has weathered a helluva lot of storms. The structure has been re-enforced and shored up on a number occasions, but the original structure is intact - fairly remarkable, that.

   As I had earlier posted pictures of a short jaunt on the pier back in February, I'll forgo posting any today. Instead, I'll post this picture of a flower I found on the beach near the pier. I have no idea how it got there.

Mysterious flower found on the beach. Looks to be a chrysanthemum - maybe it was used for a burial at sea and washed ashore after a journey of hundreds of miles (Probably not, but way more romantic than "possibly flew off a table at the Eat at Joes restaurant on the pier").

Mysterious poles forming a line of demarcation a short distance from the Daytona Beach Pier - maybe a "no cars allowed past this point" dealio?

Mysterious young woman who said yes to her picture being taken as long as I obscured her "sh*itty tattoo"

                                                Not a lot of splish-splashers north of the pier, either

   From the pier a wide ribbon of concrete skirts the beach heading north and extends for a little more than a mile. It was built in the late 1920's and expanded and improved upon many times since. 

   Yeah, it's called a boardwalk even though it's concrete, just like the boardwalk between PB and MB in SD.

   The boardwalk features a bandshell that was built in the 1930's. It's a fairly unique structure as it features coquina facing. Coquina is a sedimentary rock made almost entirely out of pieces of shells that have been fused together, so it lends itself well to decoration of structures built near the sea.

   From May to September the bandshell features free concerts, which has to be a lot of fun. Might have to come back in a few months just to check that out.

   The boardwalk is lined with souvenir shops, small cafes, restaurants, arcades, and amusement parks - none of which I ventured toward as I figured it was time for me to start heading back.

                               Tide was coming in and I had to start walking the 3.5 miles back to the hotel