2015 Feb 01-06 - Tomoka State Park & Around the Daytona Area

Well, Fred, the Service Manager at Safari Condo, asked that we take the awning to a shop to see if it can be repaired. They will ship material if necessary and pay for the repair. When he saw the picture, he said that the end of the channel should have been flared, like a funnel, to prevent ripping when the awning is installed. I told him I'd rather wait until we get home and take it to Armbruster's so that if there are delays, I'll be working with someone near home. So, we'll use the awning on this trip, then have it checked out when we get home.

Our first night at Tomoka State Park was Super Bowl Night. We couldn't get a TV channel that carried the game, so we found the Pirana Sports Bar and watched the game from there. Great place! Had a few beers and they had free food during the entire game, including meatballs, chili, boiled shrimp, and a bunch of other stuff!
One day, we went into Daytona for lunch at the Oyster Pub, recommended by my friend, Mark. When we walked into the place, I realized tat I'd been there years ago during Bike Week. I had Clams Casino. Excellent!

Then we went to the Ponce Inlet and toured the lighthouse and museum. It was really interesting. All of the buildings were still there including the Keeper's house, First Assistant's House, Second Assistant's house, and several other buildings. At 175 feet, it's the tallest lighthouse in Florida, and still operational today.

After we toured the lighthouse, we walked across the street to the marina where a fishing boat had just docked after a day of fishing. There were a lot of fish to clean. As they were cleaned, the guts were thrown into the harbor where several pelicans were waiting for dinner.

Right next to the dock, there happened to be a bar, so we stopped in for a couple before heading back to camp. Thursday, Feb 5 was the first day of the Florida Tear Jerkers camper gathering. There were about 30 tear drop trailers there. They invited us to join them at the Meet & Greet on Thursday evening and the pancake breakfast on Friday morning before we hit the road.

One of the group rolled in towing his tear drop with a 1948 Buick Roadmaster with Illinois plates on it.When I asked his wife where they were from, she said, "Charleston." I looked at her husband and recognized him as a guy whom I'd worked with at Moore Business Forms back in the mid 1960's. Wow! What are the chances? John has a car collection and this Roadmaster is one of his favorites.

We ate breakfast with the group on Friday morning before heading for St. Petersburg. More later!