A Day at the Beach

Tuesday, June 8, was our day at the beach in Daytona.   A beautiful sandy beach was steps from our condo, just a short walk past the swimming pools, and there it is.  Pure Bliss!  The whole day I kept thinking to myself, "I can't believe I'm really here!"   I had hoped to try snorkeling, but as you can see, the water is much too sandy to be able to see anything down there.  I guess there are a couple of  large sand bars off the beach that cause poor visibility.  We still had a fun time playing in the waves and relaxing.  We rented a boogey board and Warren did really well once he got the hang of it.   I didn't do nearly as much as he did, as by the time I was ready to give it a go, the waves had gotten bigger, and it was a bit much for me.  The water is great there.  It is only waist deep for quite a long ways out, but you do have to watch for rip tides.  The lifeguard towers had red flags on them, and we did see the lifeguards go out after someone a time or two when they got too far out.

The Wyndham Ocean Walk Resort.  We were in the tower on the right side, 7th floor.  

taken from further down the beach.  Our resort is the 2 tall white towers toward the right hand side. On the left side are the ferris wheel, bungee ride, go carts, and beside them (can't see) are concession and gift shops.  The big hotels between are the Hilton resort.

 there were trailers along the beach with concessions and also rentals of chairs and umbrellas, boogie boards, beach bikes, etc.  It sure added a colorful, festive air to the beach.

Dave & Judy (DeeDee's sister)

Warren on the boogie board

Taste of the Tropics

One of the things we like best about traveling is trying the local food of the region we are visiting. Before we left, I knew I wanted to have lots of seafood and try some Jamaican and Cuban food. Monday night, the big day at Daytona, we all went to the Taste of the Tropics. Judy and I had done a search of restaurants in Daytona Beach, and this one was one of the highest rated places. We know why! Dave and Judy have spent quite a bit of time in Jamaica, and Paul and Abbie have done a lot of traveling as well, so we were all looking forward to it.

 While waiting for the others to arrive, I asked them what they would recommend trying to someone who had never had Jamaican food.  The owner and chef were very helpful, and even brought us a sampler plate.  In addition to the sampler, our group ordered Jerk Chicken, Jerk Pork, Shrimp and Patties, which are a popular type of street food, a pocket of pastry with a meat filling.  Mine was beef.   Our sampler plate had oxtail, which reminded me of a pot roast that had been well cooked in the crock pot, curry chicken and stewed beef.  photo below

the chef and owner (?)

Overall we all liked the food and had a good time at the Taste of the Tropics.  They said that most of their clientele are from out of town, as the locals tend to eat at the chain restaurants more.  We recommend them, so if you are ever in the area, give it a try!

16 Second Pit Crew Challenge

Here is the video of Warren and Brandon in their 6.83 second tire changing run. They made a great team.

Daytona 500 Experience

This trip was my present to Warren for his 50th birthday, which was last January.  He is a Nascar fan, so we spent the day Monday at the Daytona 500 Experience.  Located at the Daytona International Speedway, the Experience is part museum, taking you from the very beginnings of Nascar to present day.  There are also lots of hands-on fun activities.  We had seen the Daytona 500 IMAX movie a few years ago in Branson, but it was worth seeing it again in 3D.

One of our favorite things there was the Acceleration Alley where you were strapped into a race car and drove a simulated race, complete with the rough motion of bumps and bangs.  Warren finished the race a lap ahead of me, in 5th place even though he hit the apron of the track and wrecked.  (I knew he must have wrecked as it was very loud with scraping metal sounds and much rattling next to me.)  His computer on the simulator reset, and he finished well in spite of his little misadventure. 

The simulator car Warren drove.

These simulators were a bit tamer!

Another favorite of the day was the 16 Second Pit Stop Challenge, which is a pit crew tire changing challenge. A good speed of removing the tire, putting on a new one is about 16 seconds for a team of two.  I urged Warren to give it a try.  Here he goes!

We boarded a tram for a tour of the Speedway track, pits, victory lane, grandstands, etc.  Daytona Speedway is one mile from end to end, and has a steep curve of 31 degrees.  Its amazingly steep when you see it in person.

inside the Experience building - a view of the 31 degree grade.  Its harder to see in a picture of the track.

view from the end of the track.  In addition to the oval, there is also a road race track.

the start/finish line and grand stands.

the pits, across from the above picture.  The fans have a great view!

Here's a view from the grandstands.  You can get an idea of the curve of the track from here too.  We were really surprised with the seats!  They were simply metal folding chair seats and backs screwed to wooden planks.  Doesn't look too comfortable to sit in for hours.

Once back inside, Warren had to try the pit crew challenge again.  This time, it was different.  During the first time, he was racing against another team, one of who was a guy named Brandon.  He and his wife were on their honeymoon.  You know how sometimes you meet up with the same people over and over?  That's how it was with them.  After the first challenge, we chatted a bit, then went our separate ways.  For the track tour, we sat together in the same row of seats on the tram.  We saw them again inside, and the guys decided to try the challenge again.  They were allowed to practice a time or two before the actual challenge started.  They did very well!  See the next post for a video!  The average time is about 16 seconds, thus the name of the challenge.  They blew that out of the water with a time of 6.83 seconds!  Woohoo!  Congratulations, guys!

Our Trip to Florida - Days 1 & 2

Saturday, June 5 we flew out of Billings for Florida.  We had finished seeding the night before, got most of the garden planted before dark, then moved machinery home from Tony's farm up north.  It was about 1:30 in the morning when we got to bed.  We got 2 1/2 hours of sleep before getting up at 4 a.m.  We left home about 5, and were in Billings by noon.  We had a quick lunch with Rhonda, Kayla, Ron & Mary Ann before heading to the airport.  We flew to Minneapolis, had a 3 hour layover there, then on to Orlando.  We arrived there about 11 p.m. local time.  We waited for our one checked bag, and it didn't come... The first time we have ever had luggage lost when we have flown.  By the time we made arrangements to pick it up the next morning when it arrived from Minneapolis, got our rental car, and got to the nearby hotel, and got to bed, it was about 12:30.  A very long day!

Dave & Judy (my sister and her husband) met us at our hotel Sunday morning.   The guys went to the airport to get our bag while Judy and I waited at the hotel.  Once they were back, Judy, Warren and I left for Daytona Beach.  Dave was staying behind with their car to pick up Paul, Abbie and Zoe when they flew in later in the afternoon.  Once we got to Daytona Beach, we had lunch at a favorite place of  Dave & Judy's, Caribbean Jack's.  We sat out on the patio, under the awning, even though it was raining.

 

Judy had a wonderful coconut shrimp salad.  If we ever go back, I would definitely order this!

Warren and I shared the seafood boil.  It arrived in a bucket and included sausage, shrimp, crawfish, crab, corn on the cob and potatoes in an Old Bay Seasoning flavored broth.

 

The crawfish were interesting...  We decided they were too much work for the amount of meat you got.

After lunch we went to the Wyndham Ocean Walk Resort to check into our three bedroom condo.  By the time we were settled in there, Dave, Paul, Abbie and Zoe had arrived.  We all enjoyed a walk on the beach and boardwalk after supper, before turning in for the night.

Our condo

 

The view from our balcony - 3 pools, a lazy river, and the Atlantic Ocean!

Harvey's 80th Birthday

Warren's dad, Harvey Fast, turns 80 on June 5.  Sunday, May 30, we celebrated with family and friends at the Glasgow Evangelical Church in Glasgow, MT.  About 130 people joined us for great visiting, a delicious array of  cheese ball & crackers, nuts, 3 flavors of birthday cake, ice cream sundaes, punch, ice tea and coffee.

Once the party got going, we didn't take time out from pouring the drinks to take pictures of everyone.  I think maybe some others did, though.  Here are some pictures taken before:

Harvey & Gladys with their kids

Joan Unger, Jean Joiner, Gladys & Harvey Fast, Warren Fast, Shirley Nasner

The Kids

 Joan & Keith Unger, Jean & Ken Joiner, Gladys & Harvey Fast, Duane & Shirley  Nasner, Warren & DeeDee Fast

Brothers & Sisters

Florence & Dale Funk, Gladys & Harvey, Shirley Funk

 

Harvey & Gladys with some of their grandkids and great-grandkids.

Picture table with photos through the decades

May Showers bring June Flowers?

I have to share the view from my living room window, along with some of the flowers.   With all the rain, it is nice and green here.  It smells heavenly when you walk outside as all the lilacs are blooming.  We have hedges of lilacs around the lawn, and rows of lilacs in the shelter belts around the yard. 

Here are some of the flowers and trees blooming in my yard.

I love these petunias.  They are a bright, cheerful magenta with a green edge.  Very cool!