Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area, Flagler Beach, Florida
But let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.
It was supposed to be sunny and upper 60’s today. It never even got close. And on top of that, it was super windy!
We made the short drive to Daytona for two reasons – Blaine was anxious to tour the Speedway, and his parents are staying in a timeshare condo near the track.
On the way, we knew from the Park Ranger talk we listened to the other day, there was the only World War II Coastal Watchtower left, so we stopped to check that out. There’s not really any parking, except alongside the road and we were glad to have a Jeep because the sand was fairly deep.
Daytona Beach is 23 miles long, and at low tide, 500 feet wide; all of it hard-packed, flat sand. Because of that, they let you drive on the beach for a fee.
It’s $20. We were considering driving because it would be fun to drive the Jeep on a beach, but there are better ways for us to spend $20.
Like on a tour of the Daytona International Speedway. 😊
Terry (that’s with a ‘y’ 😊) regaled us with a lot of information on our tour, but we can’t remember most of it, so here’s what I found on Wikipedia. Hopefully, it’s accurate. There’s no information on the official Daytona website. Guess they want you to take the tour. 😊
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, USCC, SCCA, and Motocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.5-mile (4.0 km) high-speed tri-oval, a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) sports car course, a 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle course, and a 1,320-foot (400 m) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track’s 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The track was built in 1959 by NASCAR founder William “Bill” France, Sr. to host racing that was held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course. His banked design permitted higher speeds and gave fans a better view of the cars. Lights were installed around the track in 1998, and today it is the third-largest single lit outdoor sports facility. The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004 and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010.
On January 22, 2013, the track unveiled artist depictions of a renovated speedway. On July 5, 2013, ground was broken on the project that removed backstretch seating and completely redevelop the frontstretch seating. The renovation to the speedway was constructed by Design-Builder Barton Malow Company in partnership with Rossetti Architects. The project, named “Daytona Rising”, was completed in January 2016, and cost US $400 million, placing emphasis on improving fan experience with five expanded and redesigned fan entrances (called “injectors”), as well as wider and more comfortable seating with more restrooms and concession stands. After the renovations were completed, the track’s grandstands include 101,000 permanent seats with the ability to increase permanent seating to 125,000. The project was finished before the start of Speedweeks in 2016.
After the track tour, we were allowed to view the museum, which also contained some interesting things.
We were there long enough for me to warm up. I got cold riding around on that open-air tram with no coat! I dressed for upper sixties and sunny. That does not include a coat.
I don’t know how he does it, but Blaine seems to always know how long things will take. He told his mom we’d be there around 1:00pm. It was 1:02 when we got back in the Jeep! A short 5-minute drive and up the elevator and we were in their timeshare place.
We spent about five hours visiting. Blaine and I brought dinner to heat up and Blaine even baked a key lime pie from scratch to share. He’s getting so domestic! Soon, I’ll be kicked to the curb.
He also ran out to get new batteries for their car key fobs. I stayed in. No way was I walking around town in the freezing cold again. Plus, I wanted to visit with Joan! He took a couple of pictures while he was out, though.
But as lovely as the visit was, it set my recuperation back. All the talking inflamed my throat/vocal chords again. So now it’ll be back to salt water gargles, rounds of ibuprofen, ricolas and no talking. Sheesh! I have a really hard time with that ‘no talking’ part.