On the Space Coast
After two days of rain, Starbucks, cleaning, car servicing and maintenance, we get back on the road. Canaveral National Seashore is a natural area with swamps, streams and beaches. Black Point scenic drive is beautiful but quiet. We take our time to try and spot birds, there’s mainly herons, egrets and ibises. Surprisingly we see only one alligator.
The visitors center lady told us where to see wild Manatees, the place didn’t disappoint. In a small cove there’s a lot of them, adult and juveniles. We observe them play, spinning around and hugging each other. The water is not clear but they get close to the surface quite often.
Playalinda beach is in the protected area so it’s not built with hotels like everywhere else on the East coast of Florida. It’s nice but really windy today. We head all the way to the end to see the nudist part of the beach, just for the fun. But it looks like everyone had the same idea, there’s nowhere to park! No naked people watching today!
It’s time to leave the space coast and continue heading North. We stop at Ponce Inlet where they have restored the lighthouse beautifully. It’s $7 pp to go up, so we skip it.
A few miles up is Daytona Beach, a famous spring break location. It’s filled with hotel blocking the view and access to the beach. The pier area is small and touristy. It all looks a bit sad because the season is over. The city is known worldwide for the NASCAR race track. We drive past it on our way out and have a peak at it, the grand stand is massive!
