Daytona Beach

We are in Daytona Beach nicknamed "The Birthplace of Speed". We drove on the world famous historic beach and although the speed limit was lower than the "greats" reached back in "The Day" it was quite a feeling.
The first historic race on this beach dates back to 1903 when Ranson E. Olds (father of the Oldsmobile) raced against and lost to Alexander Winton.
It was also on this beach that in 1935 Sir Malcolm Campbell posted an unprecedented official one mile speed of 276.82 miles per hour.
One of the spectators who witnessed Campbells record setting run was William Henry Getty France who would continue to usher in a new era of speed. In 1947 he and 18 other members of the racing Industry would come together to form the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). In 1948 France opened the 4.1 mile stretch of race track that ran north along the beach and south on Highway A1A near Ponce Inlet.




We drove on down to see the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse which has the distinction of being the tallest lighthouse in Florida at 175 feet (53m) high and its light can be seen 20 miles (32kms) away. In 1998 it was declared a National Historic Landmark.

The lighthouse was first constructed in 1883 and the lamp at that time was kerosene. The lighthouse was transferred to the Coast Guard in 1938 and they oversaw it for the next three decades. It was abandoned in 1970 and deeded to the Town of Ponce Inlet. The town made it and the surrounding caretakers buildings into a museum which is still open to the public today. In 1982 the lighthouse was restored to active service because high rise buildings were blocking the Coast Guard's beacon on the other side of the inlet.