We made it!

A few glitches here and there, but we made it down in good time. The best part was when we were able to get off of the interstate and get onto the smaller roads. A little south of Jacksonville, we went rogue and abandoned our MapQuest directions. We found a really cool place called Palm Coast, and we were driving down this tree-shrouded corridor, Spanish moss dripping from the live oaks crouched over the roadway. It was incredibly gorgeous and beautiful. We headed down A1A, through Flagler, Beverly, Ormond, and Daytona beaches. We stopped at a little place in Flagler Beach called Turtle Island (I think it was Island) Cafe, and sat outside and watched the ocean and felt the breeze while we ate a late lunch.

As we drove through Daytona, it made me glad that our timeshare is in New Smyrna. Daytona has so many high rises along the beach, but NSB has an ordinance about how high buildings can be. It's just so much more laid back, and I appreciate that. It was great to get back to our home away from home! After some grocery shopping and a dinner out at PJ's Sea Shack, we're back in and settling in for the night. I feel wiped, and I'm not the one who drove! I'm looking forward to sleeping in and having some time on the beach tomorrow, weather permitting.

Also, there are lots of cool old motels still operating in Daytona--the court-type motels, many of them one story, with just a handful of units. It's very disappointing to see the lack of original signage, though. Even though the motels themselves are still in operation, they've usually added a bland, cookie-cutter backlit sign. Yawwwwn. I hate to think of the wonderful signs that have been lost.

Oh, the picture here is the one I told you about from Nickajack Reservoir in Tennessee. Isn't that just about the prettiest little rest area you've ever seen?