Today we decided to drive down Route 1 to Daytona Beach then back on A1A right along the coast. We left after lunch and planned dinner at home so there won’t be any food pictures or favorite things to eat.

The drive down was uneventful except when desperately trying to find a convenience store in a good part of any city to use their bathroom. When we did find one I heard a very heartwarming story from one of the cashiers. I noticed she was sweating profusely and had a rash all over her neck. I asked her if she was okay. She responded by saying that it was because of stress. Then she proceeded to tell me that while she was getting ready for work she looked out her window and saw a puppy near a tree in her front yard. Her first thought was that it had been hit by a car. She ran out to see if it was injured and noticed that someone had chained a beautiful bridle, female pit bull mix puppy to her tree. Needless to say she was angry and felt so bad for this pup that she decided adopt her instead of turning her over to animal control. She did however report it to the proper authorities but feels the person who did this will never be found. There are so many good people in this world and she is one of them!

We reach Daytona Beach and start our drive back up 1A1. We are driving along, I am seeing plenty of places to park and go walk onto the beach, but we don’t stop. I finally ask Curt if we were just “driving” to Daytona and back or if he intended to stop at any point in time so I could feel the sand between my toes and run a little in the ocean. He said that he was looking for a place the wasn’t so crowded (touristy) and we continued driving. We came upon Ormond Beach and I am so, so glad we waited. We parked along the side of the road in a free parking area, walked down the public stairs onto a beach that wasn’t crowded and had a fun time watching the birds and waves while we walked along the shore.

One bird in particular fascinated me and I am wondering who can identify it.

We happened upon a seagull convention but they were just wrapping it up and decided it was time to leave before we could say hello.

I got to put my feet in the very warm Florida water, walk along the beach and just feel the sun on my face. If I had my bathing suit I would have jumped in, it was that warm. On the other hand, Curt was freezing and in a sweatshirt.

It was a good day to travel and see the beautiful ocean.

We did notice on our way back that there was a lot of damage from the last hurricane. Many of the private stairs leading to the beach were in piles of splintered wood. Some houses were under construction – roof damage was prevalent.