Thursday, March 31

Daytona!!!!!, We were on our way from South Florida to Titusville when we saw a sign that indicated Daytona was only 40 miles further up the highway.  So, we passed our off ramp to Titusville and headed to the Big D.  This track is HUGE. The track is the second longest of the NASCAR circuit.  It was built in the 50's, opened up in '58 with the first race and continues to entertain till today. We took a tour on the track. Man, I have been watching NASCAR since I was about 16-p years old.  I knew that track had some steep corners, but 41 degrees is huge.  And the starting line is 18 degrees.  On TV, it looks flat.  We took some pictures, but the track parameters still cannot be appreciated.  The seats are very steep, with the seats next to the track the cheapest at around $100. The seats at the top are over $1000, the suits are over $10000 and up.  I will stick to the TV. An interesting tid bit....NASCAR does not own that track.  They least it.  I think it is close a Million each year.  Also, another tid bit is the original rules set up by the founders was that only stock cars can race and they must be American made.  So, Toyota has a large presence at the track.  Apparently they approached the Daytona refacing with NASCAR and donated over $400 mil to pay for a Toyota section of seating. So now there are Toyota, Ford, Chevy sections.  Money can buy anything.  

We got back to the coach in time for happy hour and our neighbors that we have befriended asked if we wanted to go to dinner.  Off we went to a restaurant that specialized in fresh oysters.  Man, 3 dozen oysters later along with shrimp, crab, scallops, and steamed oysters. Now that was probably the best meal we have ever had.