DaytonaBeach.com / Facebook.com/DaytonaBeach | 9
Where’s My Stuff?
Your stuff is probably at home,
but don’t worry. You can rent
everything you need at shops
throughout the area. Beach
concessions sell food and drinks
but some also rent equipment.
Surf shops and other vendors rent
boogie boards and surfboards, jet
skis, motor scooters, umbrellas,
chairs, bicycles and now,
motorized wheelchairs outfitted
with special tires for the beach. Get
one that isn’t motorized and ride it
right into the water.
Or, why not go for a ride that has
a beachy vibe? Parasailing is one
way to do it. There you are,
soaring above the waves at 600
feet, maybe 1,200, like an osprey or
a gull, and you can share it, in sails
with seating for three.
And how could we ever overlook
the thrill of driving (oh-so-slowly)
on the beach? You can do it on
specially designated stretches of
beach, just as in the early days of
the automobile.
Change of Pace
We have beach, and we have
beach parks, too. Some, like
52-acre Lighthouse Point Park in
Ponce Inlet and Michael Crotty
Bicentennial Park inOrmondBeach,
are pooch-friendly. Some have
picnic areas, pavilions, charcoal
grills, restrooms and boardwalks.
Here or anywhere on the beach, you
can find a good spot to pitch a
volleyball net or toss a Frisbee.
Our elite lifeguard corps
comprises trained athletes,
responsible forwater rescue of
swimmers and surfers, and boaters.
Swimnear a lifeguard tower, and also
be aware of beach flagswarning of rip
currents and other hazards.
Getting on the beach is easy.
Rooms and suites to suit awide range
of tastes and budgets lie just steps
fromthe sand.
Entering by foot or bicycle is
free. In a car, drive down any of the
ramps, pay the $10daily fee, and park
perpendicular to the shoreline. There
aremore than 3,500public parking
spaces on, near, or adjacent to the
beach,most of themfree.
Thebeachhaszones;they’renot
mapped,butyoucanfigurethemout
foryourself.IntheNaturalZone,a
grainofsandpauses,thenjoinsthesociety
of the dune, and you. That’s about as
raucous as it gets. TheTransitional Zone
has more activity, more man-made
structures. The Urban Zone is more
dense, with hotels, restaurants, music
and bars. So whatever your mood, you
can be in the zone.
FromMay 15 through Oct. 31 it’s sea
turtle nesting season. These marine
visitors own the beach, ride the surf
at night to come ashore, dig a nest and
lay their eggs. Two months later, baby
sea turtles, about 100 from each nest,
emerge. Don’t disturb a turtle, a nest
or a hatchling. If you are one of those
persons with incredible timing in life,
you will see a turtle laying her eggs, or
babies hatching, but it is rare.
The history of the beach reaches
into secrets of the past, to ancient
times and Timucuan Indians, to
intrepid settlers and daredevil racers.
At dusk, the sun slides into the west,
trailing ribbons of russet and gold,
leaving shore birds behind, blipping in
the tide pools.
The moon rises above your balcony.
Shrimpers glow in the distance. The
starry darkness billows overhead,
and you say goodnight to a day at the
beach.
—Eleanore Osborne is a Daytona Beach
area-based freelance writer.
