It isn’t an easy place to survive. My mother liked to remind me that Volusia County, which includes Daytona Beach, is the lowest paying county in the state. One of my professors relished telling us that Volusia is a third world county. Yet, I stayed all those years, and enjoyed them.
One of Daytona’s claims to fame is that people can drive on the beach. Many years ago they had car races on the beach; and not so many years ago driving on the beach at night was legal. It is a strange way to treat your beach -- to drive on it. The old school race fans support beach driving as a tribute to Daytona’s history. I once worked for a man that was founder of a group called, “Sons of the Beaches”, whose sole mission was to preserve beach driving for all. The turtle ladies down south, in Ponce Inlet, fought hard against beach driving in front of their homes, and won. They fought in the name of environmentalism to keep the beach safe for sea turtle nests; and in my opinion to keep the beach in front of their homes private for themselves. Sadly, a child was killed recently, run over by a car on the beach. When my son was little, we would go north to Ormond by the Sea where beach driving wasn’t allowed. It was difficult enough to keep an eye on a child in the surf, without also having to worry about traffic.
There once was a boardwalk in Daytona, all gone now. We went there often to play at the arcades and ride the rides. I convinced my son that the Space Needle was our own personal space ship. For about two dollars you entered a round glassed in room that rose fifty feet or more into the air while rotating on a shaft. We delighted in looking down at the itty bitty people on the beach. The boardwalk had a carnival atmosphere, cotton candy, trinkets, souvenirs, T-shirt shops, air brush artists; all just ten minutes from our house everyday of the week.
Daytona Beach has no real industry outside of tourism. Shifts of people come into town for an event and them go away only to be replaced by another shift of people. Sometime in January the race fans start coming into town. The Daytona 500 is the big one; and Nascar seems to add on another race or two every year. Race fans are mostly middle aged, and well behaved. They inject money into the local economy. They come back again in July for the Pepsi 400; now much more popular since it’s a night race, and fans don’t have to withstand the brutal midsummer midday heat.
After the race fans leave, after the Daytona 500 is over, the bikers come. They roar into town on their shiny chrome Harleys wearing black shirts and leather. Bikers are also mostly middle aged, but not as well behaved as the race fans. A popular saying is that, they’re all doctors and lawyers in real life, although I don’t think it’s so. I think plenty of the bikers are only bikers for bike week; but also plenty are bikers all the time. Their bad behavior is their driving. Many, no not all, insist on modifying the pipes on their bikes to make them as loud as possible; and insist that “loud pipes save lives”. Some dart dangerously through traffic; likely the same ones that complain that auto drivers just don’t see them. There is no doubt that the bikers inject money into the local economy. So, they are rarely ticketed for loud pipes, although they’re illegal. Laws seem to be in abeyance during bike week. It’s an interesting way to live.
After bike week has come and gone, the spring breakers arrive. College students from cold places come in early spring to enjoy what they consider warm weather. Locals are horrified at the sight of people swimming in the ocean in April; it’s still way too cold by our standards. Spring breakers are young, and reasonably well behaved. There is advertising headlined, “Come on vacation, leave on probation.” Spring breakers do not inject nearly the amount of money into the local economy as race fans and bikers; and it seems their indiscretions are far less likely to be overlooked. Temporary holding cells are placed behind the Ocean Center every year during spring break for breakers that get out of line, mostly for under age drinking. In roughly two year cycles the welcome mat is extended and withdrawn. Sometimes the local politicians believe that their tourist dollars are important; other times the spring breakers are deemed more trouble than they’re worth. They stay on the beachside, eat fast food, sleep on the beach all day, and go to the bars at night.
After Memorial Day, budget conscious families vacation in Daytona Beach. The local politicians wish that Daytona could attract a more up-market class of tourists. Many of the families that vacation in Daytona are from southern states seeking the most economical beach vacation possible. As long as I can remember, Daytona Beach’s nickname has been “The Redneck Riviera”; a name that is embarrassing to some. I never minded the name.
The best times of year in Daytona Beach are spring and fall. Spring -- after the breakers leave and before the summer families arrive; and fall -- after Labor Day and before Biketoberfest, (the other bike week in October). The town is empty, the roads are no longer busy, no lines at the restaurants. The weather is perfect, not too hot and not too cold. Daytona Beach transforms back into a sleepy beachside small town. These are the glorious days that make locals remember why we love it here.
I feel at home in Daytona Beach, not just because I lived there for so long -- I felt at home right away. Maybe part of that feeling comes from knowing that people come to Daytona for vacation, many return year after year. And we, the lucky ones, live year round in this beautiful crazy corner of the universe.
UPDATE - 2/14/2013 - I love Daytona Beach. I'm hoping to move back near Daytona Beach soon. I don't know how or why this article has recently received so many hits ... thank you for the attention! And more pictures -
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