Daytona Beach.

Our Location today is Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.

Last night just after dark we had a Commercial Semi-Tractor parked in an empty site about thirty feet from our trailer. Around 10:00 the operator of the truck fired it up and went to sleep with it idling to keep him cool the remainder of the night. Of course the part of our trailer that was closest was our bedroom slide. Every time I woke up through the night the sound of the diesel engine could be felt throbbing. We were both lucky to have tired ourselves out walking at the flea market yesterday. When we woke up this morning he was gone. I did go to the office to complain and today it was the manager of the park that was in so he was shocked to hear of the truck being allowed on the property in the first place. He guaranteed me that it wouldn’t happen again. 

After posting the blog last night it was agreed that I would return to the Daytona Flea Market this morning to make a couple of purchases. From the time I left the trailer until the time that I returned only fifteen minutes had lapsed and I had visited four vendors but stopped to make only two purchases. We can’t even find these items back home. 

We’d also researched online where there was a local Camping World and a Harbor Freight. Kathy found two locations of each and entered them into our GPS. By 10:00 we were on our way to the first location of Camping World. The address took us to a parking lot next to the Daytona Speedway. Setting the GPS for the second location that was 13 miles away it took us east in the direction of the beach then up US 1 South then west on 441 before having us go north on I-95. It had us exit eastbound on the International Speedway Boulevard and brought us right back to the same parking lot as before. 

Scratching Camping World from our list Kathy set the GPS for Harbor Freight. Again we were heading in the direction of the beach but this time we turned north on US 1. After another turn the GPS wanted us to turn down a road that looked more like an alley. We drove to the next intersection where it said to turn right but I was looking at Harbor Freight across the street in a plaza. Kathy insists that it’s not the fault of the GPS but the Google Programmers. 

That is a haze hanging in the air in both these photos.

Once we’d finished our shopping our intention was to return to the Daytona Beach Main Street Pier and Boardwalk. The other day it was impossible to find anywhere to park but being only late morning we lucked out and found a parking spot within a couple blocks from the beach today. 

Armed only with the camera we walked across Atlantic Boulevard towards the beach. Since it was lunchtime we chose to have pizza slices from Pizza King before exploring the area more. When finished we walked north on the walkway towards loud music and throngs of university and college students. This is where we found out that they were involved in Cheerleader Competitions. The competitors from squads that had already been eliminated were enjoying the beach itself. That was the reason we couldn’t find anywhere to park the other day. 

After enjoying an ice cream cone to cool ourselves down I returned to the truck to get our camping chairs. We had forgotten our sun umbrella so we set our chairs under the edge of the pier. We enjoyed the fresh air while we read our books and people watched. People were enjoying the amusement park rides, others the water and still others only enjoying the sun. At one point there was a bit of excitement when a young boy got caught in a Rip Tide. Luckily a citizen that knew what to do had rescued him before the Life Guards and Fire Rescue arrived. 

The sky was starting to look threatening to us so we thought we’d head for the trailer besides it was already past 4:00. Along the way we saw a Steaks & Shakes. Since we haven’t been to one yet this year we stopped in for supper. We had just gotten our meals when the rain started coming down so hard it slowed traffic outside. Back at the trailer I later spoke to one of our neighbors that told me they had lightning but no rain.   

The trucker reappeared around 6:30 but before he could shut his truck down the park manager was there to move him on. By 8:00 the rain started pounding the trailer and it’s still making its presence known. Tomorrow is another day and rain is forecast for the next few days.  Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

The World's Great Proverbs

Great oaks from little acorns grow.