The Long Walk In Daytona Beach (Part III)

   As I wanted to see what Daytona Beach looked like along A1A (and because I needed to purchase a beverage somewhere - all that walking made me quite thirsty), I left the beach itself and walked a couple blocks west to the road that runs north-south along the Florida coast, from the small town of Callahan in north Florida near the border with Georgia clear down to Miami

   The A1A is a Florida state road and from where it turns south at Atlantic Ave & So Fletcher Ave in Fernandina Beach it is rarely more than 5 blocks from a beach - that's more than 330 miles of incredible scenic views and a lot of small beach towns.

  Not to be confused with US 1, which is a United States east coast highway that runs 545 miles from the Georgia - Florida border to Key West.

   Anywhatzit, A1A in Daytona Beach is pretty much the walking/cruising strip for tourists and spring breakers, few of which were present this afternoon.

            

   A1A cuts right through the Daytona Beach tourist district, which makes it pretty easy to find your hotel.

   As you might well imagine there are a ton of surf shops, souvenir shops and liquor stores along the route, as well as other pleasant diversions such as small (and I mean, two rides, tops) amusement parks

   

Daytona Beach Screamers Park, for those who really did not like what they had for lunch

    

 

                                                  The Streamline Hotel - birthplace of NASCAR

   While the vast majority of the architecture in Daytona Beach is boring modern condo/hotel/motel/strip mall built on a lowest-cost-per-square-foot basis, there are a few gems like the Streamline Hotel seen above. 

                            Homemade Ice Cream & Karaoke Wednesdays...Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

   There are also a number of homemade ice cream shops along A1A in Daytona Beach, and not only shops that just serve ice cream, but ice cream shops that are virtually alcohol free bars with entertainment such as featured above. I call these places "Palaces of Pleasure".

                                                         Famous Yes, But World's Most Famous? No.

   After awhile of walking along the shops, convenience stores and small cafes, I decided to get off the concrete and back on the softer (yet still hardpacked) beach. 

   I crossed the street to do that and once again I was struck by the Daytona Chamber of Commerce's boast that it was the world's most famous beach. 

   Sure, it's a fairly well known beach, but if you ask around a bit, and I mean around areas outside of Florida, I'm pretty sure you're going to get answers such as Copacabana, Waikiki, Cabo San Lucas, the French Rivera, Malibu, Bondi, Ipanema, Venice (L.A., not Italy), the Bahamas (literally, any beach on the Bahamas), Tahiti, Bali, Cozumel...

   ...heck, I'm pretty sure most people will say Florida's own Miami Beach or South Beach before they will say Daytona Beach.   

   Not trying to be a hater, as I love Daytona Beach, just sayin'...nice try, Chamber of Commerce (or Tourism Board, whatever).

                                             Daytona Beach does have a lot of pretty flowers going for it

                          Nice home on Daytona Beach. Homeowners insurance rates gotta be a bit high

   Living in a beach house is a dream, right? Though it's not a dream that should be set in Florida, IMHO. I mean, that area of the Atlantic coast is fairly well known for big storms and hurricanes, eh?

                          Daytona Beach beachfront home sans stairway to the beach, removal courtesy of a storm surge.

    Who am I kidding? If I had the money I'd probably buy a place here. It's freakin' beautiful, even with the humidity.

Walked a little past my hotel - probably hiked at least 8 miles today

Next time I think I'll rent a bike though - Dogs are barking!