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| May 25, 2008 |
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I woke up this morning in time for the sunrise, but alas, the clouds were thick and the sun was hiding. I'll try again tomorrow morning.
Today I'm meeting the VISIT FLORIDA video crew to start the day by filming Tim Gilley and his assistant Kelly teaching a family how to ride a surfboard at the Grand Seas Resort. The waves were small, just about perfect for the kids. Tim Gilley is an owner of the Daytona Beach Surfing School and after watching him and Kelly teach it was clear that they have a talent for teaching. I would highly recommend them if you want to have a good time and learn the fine points of catching a wave and standing up on a surfboard. And yes, you can actually stand up and ride on your first lesson!
Next we came back to the Main Street Pier to film. The sky was clearing nicely and people were flocking to the beach. We were so glad not to have to dodge any rain.
The video crew today included Claude (photographer and TV-RV skipper), Amon (Mr. Focus) who is quite handy with a lens, whatever equipment it may be on, and Missy, who I had not met before, but who turned out to be great at opening doors (not literally, but, you know, getting people to talk to us on camera and getting us on the sky ride with camera gear for free). If I look at all like I know what to do in front of a video camera it is solely because of them.
We rode the sky ride over the pier, talked to some vendors on the beach, interviewed a parasail operator, and Jeff Harris of Bongo Billy's Banana Boat Rides. This is what it's all about on the beach here in Daytona--rent a couple of chairs and a colorful umbrella, rent a boogie board or surfboard, rent a couple of bikes and ride up the beach, go parasailing, or enjoy a Banana Boat Ride.
I should explain at this point what a Banana Boat is. Its just an inflatable boat that looks like a banana, OK? A tow rope connects the banana to a jet ski, which pulls the banana through the water at whatever speeds you want to go, from zero to really fast. If you can't quite get the courage to go parasailing, at least do the sky ride and the banana boat ride. Parasailing though is not all that scary, really (at least that's what Missy tells me ).
After we wrapped up the shoot, we all decided on lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at the Ocean Walk shops by the Hilton. An excellent choice it was. I was especially happy with the blueberry lemonade. Creative and refreshing drinks are definitely a strong point at Bubba Gump's. Choosing a drink at a restaurant is always a challenge for me, since I stay away from caffeine, alcohol, and milk. What's left? Not much at most places, but at Bubba Gumps I had lots of fun and fruity choices.
After lunch I said good-by to Claude, Amon, and Missy. They were off to shoot some more video before hitting the road again. I headed back to my room at the Hilton to relax a bit and then I hit the beach again where I sat in my beach chair and reached a state of nirvana that I fully deserved after a long day as a professional beach bum.
Dinner found me back at Bubba Gump's, where live music was playing to a laid-back crowd at the beach band shell in front of the Ocean Walk shops. Unfortunately the wait at Bubba's was an hour and it was already 8:30 p.m., so I hoofed it back to the pier and settled for a piece of grilled salmon and a baked potato overlooking the ocean.
As I finished dinner, a serious display of fireworks was launched from the end of the pier. It turned out to be one of the best fireworks displays I'd ever seen.
It seemed like everyone in Florida turned out for the evening festivities, which included a street (beach) magician, an arts and crafts show along the beach walk, and excellent live music.
Back in my room I left the sliders open and fell asleep to the sound of the breaking surf...
David McRee
Florida Beaches Expert |
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| The Hilton Daytona provides the backdrop for the beach festivities. |
| Credit: David McRee, VISIT FLORIDA Beaches Expert |
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