Day 255 – New Smyrna Beach to The Marina at Hammock Beach Resort, Palm Coast, FL - March 17, 2012

We awake to another beautiful day to travel.  There is clear blue sky and light wind.  Just after leaving New Smyrna Beach we pass the southern entrance to the Ponce de Leon inlet.  Because of the shoaling that accompanies inlets we travel in the Ponce de Leon cut which is another of the man-made channels that make travel on the intercoastal much easier.  We continue on through Daytona Beach.  When you travel the intercoastal you certainly see a much different part of a town than when you travel by road.  We have driven through Daytona Beach on highway 1A before – seeing the beach, all the hotels, the restaurants and the tourist traps.  If the chart didn’t tell us we were going through Daytona Beach we never would have known (except for the fact that we crossed under the Daytona Beach International Speedway Boulevard bridge).

We end our travel today at The Marina at Hammock Beach Resort.  This is a beautiful resort with restaurants, pools, a golf course, beach access and much more.  It would be a great place to hang out for a few days of rest and relaxation, but we are already rested and relaxed so we plan to stay just the one night.   As it is St. Patrick’s Day, Carrie and Frank invite Doug, Judy, Fred and I over for corn beef and cabbage.  It is a marvelous meal –I must admit that this is the first time I’ve ever had corn beef and cabbage.  Thanks to Carrie and Frank for introducing me to a great new meal!   

             Miles: 37.7      Bridges: 10      Locks: 0

looking down the southern entrance to the Ponce de Leon inlet
toward the beautiful red Ponce de Leon Lighthouse

another shot of the Ponce de Leon Lighthouse as we pass by the
inlet on the man-made canal

not only is it a beautiful day for boating, but two
hot air balloons enjoy the day as well

these marvelous pictures are on the bases of the
Daytona Beach International Speedway Blvd. bridge

another shot of the bases of the bridge

as we cross under the bridge, we realize that these are actually tile
mosaics - they are absolutely beautiful

we saw a number of storm or wind damaged palm trees

looking down a man-made canal that has yet to be developed

the rocks along the way at low tide