Home Safe, Cat Up But Car Down

Left Dayton about 6 a.m. as first light brings first traffic. The roads were clear and dry all the way to the bridge at Port Huron/Sarnia where snow remnants and the cold welcomed us back. So did the friendly Canadian border guy who ignored the cat in the back and asked about tobacco and alcohol instead --- where's his priorities, eh. Stopped for gas, a sub and groceries. Amazing that the same fresh strawberries from Florida are $1 at our No Frills store but were $3.99 at the stores in Florida last week!

No surprise that there is still snow in the tree shadows and covering much of the hill. The trusty car got thanked and put away in the cold barn. The indolent cat got carried up the hill like a calico Cleopatra. Where's my priorities, eh.

Then we got to work shovelling tracks for the van. Beautiful ice floes, clean crisp air, and great to be home. Next blog who knows when or where......

From Daytona to aDayton

Left Daytona in the dark; warm silky breezes caressing like a velvet glove. Drove all day through sun then rain then spring blossoms then dark. Pulled in for the night entirely coincidentally at Dayton, Ohio. Cold rough winds caressing like a piece of sandpaper.

14 hours at the wheel but odometer says distance is 1,052 miles. Get it --- the distance from Daytona to a Dayton is two Daytona 500's (including parade laps)!! Something cosmic there.

Anyway, we're about 2/3 the way home and it's lights out at the Knights Inn.

The Omens Say ---- Time to Go Home!

Sunday March 27, 2011

Four days early, we drove off at 5 a.m. this morning to return home. It's 85F/sunny here and below freezing/snowy back in Kemble but it's time. Florida has far exceeded my expectations as a wintering spot, although you have to be picky as to where and when.

There's an inspiring legend in the Mayan culture of Central America. In the spring (as we call it), when the sun serpent climbed the pyramid of Chichin-Itza it was a sign for the Mayans to plant the crops. Where we are staying, BOTH the sunrise AND sunset are now visible from the balcony. Before yesterday, the alignment of the building only allowed one or the other to be seen. The sun serpent is telling us it's time to go home and plant the crops.

If that weren't enough, yesterday a dolphin emerged in front of us and swam north. We don't mess with the omens --- we're heading north as you read this!

The Birthplace of Speed

Ormond Beach and Daytona Beach are joined at their border and in claims to be The Birthplace of Speed. Numerous land speed records were set on the sands of Ormond in the early 1900's. Inventors such as Mr. Olds, Ford, Louis Chevrolet, Winton and Packard tested their machines on what was the only reliable flat track in the U.S.

Eventually the quest for speed stretched south to Daytona for a 2.3 mile course that looped on the sand and shore road. Legendary drivers such as Sir Malcolm Campbell (238 mph on sand!), and wild stories such as cars turning over and being flipped upright by spectators. Motorcycles joining in. A mechanic/driver named Bill France who fled the Depression up north to make some money in the races but got cheated by the promoters. That same Bill France founding NASCAR in 1947 on the rooftop bar of the Streamline Hotel. The races moved to an inland track and the rest is $$$$$.

We're one block from the Streamline, 3 blocks from the garage the drivers used for repairs, and a 10-minute stroll through 30 historic plaques on the Speed Walk of Fame. And of course the hardpack sand is still here. Each January original race cars reenact the historic 1903 beach races. You can stand within 20 feet of those cars but watch out, they're doing 45 in a 10mph zone!

MOldy (=Monthly Oldy Pix)

Can't let a whole month go by without mentioning classic cars. If the salt air is rinsed off often, cars here age gracefully and can be seen as daily drivers in great shape. Of course you also see abused beauties with dents, tears, and faded paint. But the majority have been babied and are seen on the streets with their proud mommas and poppas. In fact, this weekend there's a classic car show at the Daytona Speedway infield --- 5,000 cars on a sunny day. But I like to see them in their natural habitat, ready for fun fun fun.

Seen Scenes

We're into our last week of both Daytona and our 3-month winter trip. Here are some leftover scenes, seen nearby:

1. bright red Bottle Brush in bloom, a native of Australia!

2. a fuzzy picture of a wedding on the beach, reminds us of Mexican beach weddings

3. pelican carved out of downed oak tree

4. cheerleaders who won a national competition here
5. main corner for spring breakers, at night from parking garage

6. same as #5, looking other way

7. a welcome home party for dad, presumably from overseas posting

8. surfers rinsing off in kid's splash pad

9. lost art of skywriting --- is that DOG + U?

10. my favourite, gas at 18 cents a gallon!

Who Cleans the Windows?

Temps in the high 80'sF all week so we're cruising around looking for indoor or shady spots. At the end of one of Florida's many graceful concrete bridges is Casements, the former winter home of John D. Rockefeller (talk about shady --- John D. made his billions owning Standard Oil but was prosecuted for anti-trust in the days of monopoly).

The house named after its many windows was built in 1905 but bought by JDR in 1918. He had retired in 1911 and played winter golf in Georgia but a par buddy persuaded him to golf in Florida, ideal climate for his wish for longevity. Even enlarged, The Casements was "not ostentatious" and that wasn't very popular with his sophisticated New York family. (They should see my place --- The Basements!)

Rockefeller lived here winters til he died in 1937 at age 97 (longevity, right?). After that Casements has been a college for young women, a retirement home, and an apartment hotel. Left vacant in the 1970's, it was vandalized and almost given up for firewood but was saved as a National Historic Place. It now serves as a cultural and civic centre for Ormond Beach. There are classes and lectures, etc. When we dropped in this morning the Ormond Photography Club had a lunch and exhibit. Curiously, the only permanent exhibit is Hungarian folk art. Go figure.

Back to Rockefeller. He hung out with friends like humorist Will Rogers, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and race driver Sir Malcolm Campbell. He was a big fan of the famous car races on the beach. So much so that Henry Ford gave him the first Ford V8 to come off the assembly line in Detroit in 1931. John D promptly burned rubber up Woodward Avenue, annoying the neighbours. Some things never change.

Surfing Into Spring / Springing Into Surf

Today is the first full day of spring but it's 82F hot, and no rain for weeks. We passed bushfires on the way down to Cocoa Beach, famed surfing spot and great place to get salt-wet. Like Daytona, there are mega crowds of spring breakers but in a much more concentrated area.

Cocoa Beach is the home of Ron Jon's, the world's biggest surf store at 52,000 sq. ft. Of course. most customers here don't know the sharp end of a surfboard but the surfer look will outlast the Beach Boys. Anybody out there interested in one of Ron's personal boards at $5000?

Cocoa Beach has gentle, slow, beginner waves. Ironically these little waves were the start for the guy considered the world's best surfer, ever. Kelly Slater had to get all the action he could from his puny home-town surf --- and he did. Read the plaque that adorns his statue out front --- his latest championship was in 2010, at age 38!

The next Slater is out there carving the ocean. It could be you --- just get into your woody and
gear up at Ron Jon's, open 24 hours so you don't miss the next right break.