Daytona's sunny sand between your toes beaches attract tourists from all over the world.
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Since the turn of the century, Daytona Beach has had a fascination for speed. In 1902, industrialist upstart Ransom Olds, father of the Oldsmobile, is alleged to have challenged his friend Alexander Winton to a car race on the wide, hard-packed sand of Ormond Beach just north of Daytona Beach Shores. It ended in a tie, but the race captured the public's imagination, and the news spread quickly that Daytona was the place to be if you were into fast cars.
Other rich, young men came to Daytona to enjoy the good life and to chase the land speed record, which seemed to rise with every passing week. Those early, informal challenges along the shore marked the birth of stock car racing, now a hugely popular sport and a multi-billion dollar industry. The monument to that industry is the Daytona International Speedway, a leviathan of a stadium that dominates the landscape out by the airport near I-95. Here, thousands of spectators come not only to watch several annual events such as the Daytona 500 and the Pepsi 400, the most prestigious stock race in the world, but motor cycle, sports car and go-kart races.
Tired of watching the real thing, visitors can enjoy on the Speedway grounds Daytona USA, an interactive motor sports display that gives them the sensation of being in the racecar right next to Dale Jarrett and Richard Petty. Not to be outdone by the NASCAR crowd, motorcyclists also have their day in the Daytona sun with two big weekends: Bike Week and Biketoberfest.
The 23-mile beach strip is densely populated with hotels and motels, eateries and the typical seashore breed of establishments like tee shirt shops. However, unlike other seaside destinations, Daytona Beach has virtually no super high rises.
With the exception of Port Orange, the growth between the ocean and I-95 (a distance of about 15 miles) has leveled off. But dramatic expansion continues along the interstate corridor, where you get the impression of unlimited wilderness acreage west of the interstate. Here, residential golf course communities are popping up like wild flowers in spring. Like many parts of Florida, the area is a hit with northerners, particularly New Yorkers who settle here in their retirement years.
While Daytona widely appeals to the tee shirt and beer crowd, who like to drive on the beach (cars are welcome, but stay in your lane), the area has something for the non-speeders as well - a large convention center called the Peabody Auditorium for the coat, tie and laptop crowd; The Casements (Rockefeller's home) for Americana lovers; regular music festivals including the biennial Florida International Festival; great fishing; and a half dozen parks and wildlife refuges. Then there is the beach, a big hit with families with young children.
As for golf, greater Daytona offers some 20 public-access courses. The majority is located in the golf course/residential communities and has that cloned, prefab look and feel. Many golfers will enjoy these, but if your time in Daytona is limited, savor the best daily-fee courses in the area. They include The Legends Course at LPGA International, and Grand Haven at Palm Coast and Sugar Mill Golf and Country Club in New Smyrna Beach.
What's Happening in Daytona?
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Travel must be completed by December 31, 2010. Promotions are void where prohibited by law and where state registration and/or licensing requirements have not been met.
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