Fun In the Sun -- Part of the Summer Solstice Write-OffJun 20 '01 Write an essay on this topic. The Bottom Line Daytona Beach, Florida makes a wonderful vacation place for people of all sorts. Daytona Beach, Florida is one of those places that has it all that everyone can enjoy. And since I've visited there many many times during my summer breaks from school I thought it would be the perfect topic for the Summer Solstice Write-Off hosted by wovengold. Thanks! My History with Daytona I can’t remember how old I was the first time I went to Daytona Beach. There are pictures of me where I look to be about three years old, so I’m guessing that would be the first time I went. I’m now eighteen and have visited Daytona Beach at least a dozen times, if not more. When my family first started going to Daytona Beach it was to visit my mom’s best friend, then it became a stop on our drive to Disney World, and for several years we went there for the sole purpose of enjoying the beaches and oceans. Hotels During my stays in Daytona Beach I have stayed in a variety of hotels. The Ramada Inn used to be my family’s favourite place to stay but the last time we went, about four years ago, we checked in to find bugs and mold in the bathroom, bad lighting, cracked and peeling paint, and an awful stench in our rooms. We stayed one night there because we couldn’t get reservations at any of the other hotels until the next day. That had to be the nastiest hotel I have ever seen. I’m not sure if the Ramada Inn is still there, or if it changed names, or if it’s gotten any better or worse. But just to be on the safe side, I wouldn’t make reservations there. I’d much rather stay at Days Inn or Comfort Inn or Howard Johnson’s. Even some of the smaller motels looked more appealing than the room I had! During that awful night, my family’s minivan sat in the Ramada Inn parking lot with the windows down and all the doors unlocked. No one knows how we all managed to forget about it, but when you’re looking for a nice warm comfy bed and you find some horrid smelling room, it’s easy to forget things. Anyhow, the next morning when we went down to the van to get some crackers for breakfast we were in shock that the van was still there, with everything we had in it, including a small colour TV! Although the hotel was rotten, at least the parking lot was safe! For the next four nights we stayed in a very nice hotel room with a kitchenette at the Days Inn (or maybe it was the Quality Inn, I can’t quite remember). My only complaint about the hotel was that there were two elevators serving seven floors and the elevators ran unbearably slow. But other than that everything was peachy keen! The pool was nice and well maintained. There was also easy access to a section of beach that wasn’t very crowded at all for being the middle of the summer. The rooms were clean and smelled nice. Even the food at the hotel wasn’t half bad. The hotel was kind of far from the boardwalk, but it was only a short car ride away, which can be good for some and bad for others. Under the Boardwalk... Speaking of the boardwalk there’s this great little arcade at Daytona Beach. It’s right on the boardwalk. I’m not sure what it’s called, or even if it had a name but if you’re headed south on A1A and you see a small gift shop with a Taco Bell on top of it, turn left, then take the immediate left onto a small street. There’s parking along the street (or there used to be, I’d imagine there still is) and a small gravel pay-to-park lot on the left side of the street. On the right side of the street are steps leading down to the arcade. It was a little broken down and shoddy looking the last time I went, but it had the best games! And who can resist playing Skee-Ball to get those little red tickets to turn in for prizes? This arcade is also the arcade seen in Len’s music video for Steal My Sunshine. Attractions Daytona Beach has many attractions for those who aren’t beach lovers, including Bike Week in February, the Daytona 500 (also in February), a dog racing track, Go-Kart tracks, and many restaurants and bars. My advice would be to avoid going to Daytona during those events and during Spring Break. It’s less crowded at the beginning of May if you’re a beachgoer. The water might be a little chilly but at least you’ll have room to lay your towel down and spread out. Overall I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each and every vacation I have taken to Daytona Beach, especially the ones during the summer. While some avoid Florida during the summer to avoid the heat it’s when most of the cheesy souvenir shops and arcades are open and if you don’t stay close to the boardwalk you’re likely to have plenty of room on the beach. ----------------------------------------------------------- This review is part of the Summer Solstice Write-Off hosted by wovengold to celebrate the long days of summer. Please take a few minutes to check out the summer scribblings of amycamus, art_ana, BeeCharmer, bmcnichol, caspian, eplovejoy, flak-attak, Girl_Goddess, jo.com, jro26, marytara, naphtalia, Pearman, phineaskc, Social14, wardukeky, windfish and wovengold. Go to http://wovengold.tripod.com/solstice for links to their write-off submissions. Thanks for reading! -----------------------------------------------------------  |
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