Daytona is Florida

Daytona Beach is known for many things; car racing (even on the beach quite a few years ago), bikers and sadly for those who “dropped out” of life in the 1960’s.

None of those things really characterize my memories of Daytona. When I was growing up in Crawfordville, GA my parents took our family to Daytona almost every summer in August. For me, as a boy, Daytona was Florida—Florida was Daytona. There was no distinction. The rest of the State was just a bridge to get to the real Florida which was the wide sandy beaches of Daytona.

I can still remember the big signs that were strategically placed on International Blvd. announcing to the visitor that they were arriving at “The World’s Most Famous Beach.”

I don’t know about the world but I sure loved Daytona. I still do.

Year after year we made the 8 hour journey from Crawfordville to the beach. We would often go through Ocala and take the route that passed through Silver Springs and Six Gun Territory. Silver Springs remains but not much of a trace of the old Six Gun Territory except a shopping center named Six Gun Plaza. They don’t even have Can Can girls at the Plaza. Upon arriving at Daytona we would stay at some beachside hotel (like the Sunshine Motel) as near to the Board Walk as possible.

When Lori and I got married, for some reason, we stopped going to Daytona.

That all changed on our tenth anniversary.

On anniversary number 10, in the summer of 1997, Lori surprised me with a cruise to the Bahamas. It was a wonderful adventure with the greatest woman in the world. However, one of the highlights of the trip was our return home. We stopped for a few hours at Daytona. I can still remember driving up on the beach that day. I felt like a child at Christmas time. My heart was racing. My eyes were wide as saucers. I quickly parked the car, rolled up my pant legs and ran as fast as I could into the warm waters of the Atlantic. I think that day is one of Lori’s favorite recollections of me.

My mind was flooded with childhood memories. I was back in Florida. The Bahamas were beautiful but no comparison to Daytona (in my nostalgic mind).

That glorious day in August of 1997 rekindled an old family tradition. I decided that it was time for my daughters to experience Daytona. Therefore, most years since then we have made the trip back down to Florida…to beautiful Daytona.

Many years have past since those childhood vacations. I am fast approaching 46 years of age and Lori and I have been happily married for 20 years. We are blessed with five lovely daughters. Guess what? For them there is really only one beach---The World’s Most Famous Beach---Daytona.

We just returned home from our most recent visit to those wide sandy beaches, waves crashing on the shore and night walks along the water’s edge. Yes, we just returned from Florida---from Daytona.

We have some dear friends who live in Eustis, Florida (at least they refer to Eustis as being in Florida). They tell us that Daytona is only for tourist. They remind us that real Floridians go to New Smyrna Beach for it is somehow better. We are, as yet, unconverted to their view of things.

Perhaps the years of family tradition and the countless memories blind our vision to reality. I don’t think so. While at Daytona this year the Lord blessed us with many great memories. One of the best was the rainbow that He provided late on Tuesday afternoon. After an entire day of playing on the beach—He gave to us the rainbow—a reminder of His faithfulness. The rainbow touched the waters and our hearts. We thanked God that He allowed our family to visit Florida again---you know---Daytona.
Ray Rhodes, Jr. is President of Nourished in the Word Ministries and Pastor of Grace Community Church. He travels widely teaching about God-centered family life. Ray has written columns for a variety of publications and is the author of the new book “Family Worship for the Christmas Season.” You may contact Ray at ray@nourishedintheword.org and visit him on the web at www.nourishedintheword.org