Thanksgiving in Daytona

Warning: Global Warming is back (or is it Global Warming Inc.). Our first three fall seasons away from Texas have been quite cold, but this year has been very pleasant so far.

Our trip from St. Augustine to Daytona Beach was uneventful, other than a little mishap at the Coronado Bridge in New Smyrna Beach. A few minutes before we arrived there, a beautiful 44 foot sailboat knocked over a large "no wake" sign that was right in front of the bridge. The sign ended up under water in our starboard side of the channel. It was not a problem for us, but the bridge tender got a bit excited. We felt bad for the crew that hit it. Of course the Coast Guard had to be involved since one of their signs had been hit. The current is very strong there, and I think the tender faked them out a bit on the opening--told them to proceed, then had them hold up and wait for another boat.


Waiting for the bridge in New Smyrna Beach to open. Close to the bridge on the right, you can see part of the structure that used to hold the "no wake" sign.

We were safely anchored in Daytona Beach, and with Thanksgiving a couple of days away, Lisa thought we should find a Cracker Barrel that was serving the traditional meal. With the magic of Google Maps she found one that was within "walking distance" of our anchorage. It was near the Daytona 500 Speedway--trust me, it takes a while to walk around that complex. From our anchorage, it ended up being 11 miles round trip, but we got to sit down and eat at the halfway point. The Cracker Barrel baked pies through the night for a month to be ready for Thanksgiving. That way they could use all the ovens just for pies after the regular cooks went home. I was very surprised that many people went there for the Thanksgiving meal. They were having a big classic car show at the speedway next door which contributed greatly to the long waiting line.

From Daytona Beach, we made a short 20 mile trek to Cocoa. This was our first time to stop at Cocoa, and we really wanted to check out their famous hardware store. It is really something else. They have countless wrenches as big as motor cycles, and they have many items that I believe have been on their shelves for 20 years. Lisa and I could only think of the nightmare at inventory time--and why would they keep stuff that doesn't move. But it's a cool store, and they have things no place else would stock.

The End. For now.