Bayous to Beaches. Oct 19. Day 16. Beach Belly’s and Biblical rain. Daytona & Flagler

[WileyCoyote]

Wednesday 16 October

Yesterday is HERE


Today is our last full day in Palm Coast its gone so quickly. The weather is also set to turn unsettled with Tropical Storm Nestor heading towards Florida so we are not sure what its going to be like when we get down to Bradenton the day after tomorrow

We had a quiet morning - I finished off the packing - two of our cases dont need to be opened again now and are locked and labelled up ready for the trip home.

I enjoyed sitting on the balcony for a bit watching the boats and people go by - it really is such a peaceful spot.

We took a drive out to

The Seminole Woods area is to the South of Palm Coast and is huge. Fact fans it’s also where the big wildfire of the late 90s started .. forcing a county wide evacuation. And explains why there are now many fire stations across the city. There is also a huge development going up called Grand Landings and it is indeed very Grand. So Grand you need an access code to get in. Which we didn’t have

Around lunchtime we headed off to

with the aim of picking up a sandwich from Beach Belly Bobs

This took some finding due to roadworks and as it became increasingly difficult for the satnav, Andy was pondering loudly on why this was such a must.

Tsk tsk, does he never learn.

You MUST come here if you are in the Flagler area, old Bob is hilarious and young Bob totally passionate about the food. We had such a great time chatting to them and the food ... oh my .

I’m looking a bit dishevelled here. Humidity was off the chart with the approaching storm.

I went for the Chicken Sambooka

Andy had the Atomic Beach Bash

I don’t know if the photos due justice to their humongousness ( actual Dibb word ).

What was great was that Bob gave you the story behind how he created each sandwich , it was really personal for him.

It’s a tiny place but just brilliant. It was $27 with two drinks and lots of refills!

It’s a belly buster for sure.

Typing this now I wonder how Bob and the beach bars are faring. He was saying that the roadworks outside the shop had caused a lot disruption to his trade with people not being able to park up outside and now I wonder if its even open -I hope so.

Feeling very stuffed we waddled out and carried on down the beach road, passing through Ormond which we thought looked really nice and arriving in Daytona.

Which was very busy even with the darkening skies and very imminent down pour.

I did step out to get some wedding pics for Dibber Goodevans

Even the Almighty was out on a beach trip it seems

Just as we approached

the heavens opened and it lashed it down

I braved the wind at the beach to get a pic and there were still people in the sea !

So Dibbers ... is it indeed the Worlds Most Famous Beach? I’m sure if asked I would have said somewhere like Bondi, not Daytona ... hmmm

We decided not to hang around but head back to Palm Coast - I would like to go back to Daytona though and have a proper look around - it had only taken us half an hour to get there so one for another time . We Hope !

On the road back we saw a lot more bikers arriving for the start of bike week tomorrow.

I am sure the storm was not going to do them any favours at all .. it was looking dismal on the forecast

We got back to Flagler mid afternoon and picked a spot on the beach as the sun had come out and it was lovely again - a bit breezy but sunny

There was only one other couple on the same stretch of beach and apart from one of the county deputys who appeared on the wooden walkway checking out what people were doing , we didnt see anyone else.

It was so peaceful - we had the beach chairs from the condo in the car and our cooler so we sat for quite a while watching the waves

and the birds making their way slowly across the beach .

It had been a relaxing couple of hours and we were sad to be packing up . We have never been beach people but we had quite taken to it on this trip - its so much more relaxing when you aren’t fighting for a spot with hordes of others nor using the eyes in your head and bum too keep on eye on where your kids are This is definitely way more relaxing

Back at the condo we changed for dinner and took a final trip to the European Village enjoying the walk along the water.

Our first stop was the Cork and Pint again where I had a mimosa

Then on for dinner. This was by far the busiest place in the Village. Outside was busy so we opted for inside .. much quieter

Another one of those massive laminate menus
The first place we saw with a dedicated gluten free page too. Not that we need that but I thought it was good

Bread and dipping oil to start

I went for a small pizza

Andy chose lasagne

Bizarrely this Lasagne comes with a solitary meatball and sausage

Odd.

Pizza was good. Lasagne was a bit stodgy.

It was a fairly standard Italian. I find it hard to rave over this type of food. It was fresh but not especially flavourful or exciting.

On the way back, my nervousness about the dark wasn’t helped by the loudest screaming noises that we could hear.

We thought it must be like a wild house party there was such a racket but we stopped to chat with a chap who was fishing and he said the noise was a coyote pack and they must have had a kill.

I know that’s nature but it wasnt a very nice thought. And it sounded more than close enough for my liking !

Tomorrow we head off to Orlando to do some shopping and have dinner with friends before the final leg of our adventure of the Gulf.

Palm Coast has been such a treat. So pretty, so unspoilt and such friendly people. It might just be a new favourite

Today’s cocktail tally 1
Holiday total : 25

Tomorrow is HERE

[Goldia]

It sounds like a lovely relaxing day, even for people who don't usually do beaches. The screams on the way home though I'm not surprised that gave you the willies!

[Melbatb]

Hi Amanda

Sounds like a great day! So very peaceful sitting on the beach! Though that was some rain!

[KarenG]

Amanda your photos of Daytona Beach match my memories of it

Looove those sandwiches and the name of the restaurant! Hope they have made it, US unemployment figures today even worse than last week.

Waiting with baited breath for the next accommodation

Your report is a ray of light in a dull stay at home day, thank you

[Cutiepie]

The Palm Coast sounds lovely & certainly a place to consider when the kids have grown up

Thanks for continuing to post your report as I’m still enjoying reading them, helps brighten my day!

[Sparksy72]

Supersized sandwiches and Hawaiian pizza with a sunny beach visit squeezed in between- a fab day.

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by Goldia

It sounds like a lovely relaxing day, even for people who don't usually do beaches. The screams on the way home though I'm not surprised that gave you the willies!

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Hello Abby, how are you doing?
I was really quite surprised by how much we enjoyed being on the beach. I normally hate it but it was so quiet and so peaceful just listening to the waves.
The noise was horrific, high shrieking and howling. It certainly speeded up the walk home

Originally Posted by Melbatb

Hi Amanda

Sounds like a great day! So very peaceful sitting on the beach! Though that was some rain!

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Hi Mel, hope you are all ok. Has O come home ?
Isn’t that a Florida weather great ... torrential rain in Daytona and 30 minutes north brilliant sunshine.

Originally Posted by KarenG

Amanda your photos of Daytona Beach match my memories of it

Looove those sandwiches and the name of the restaurant! Hope they have made it, US unemployment figures today even worse than last week.

Waiting with baited breath for the next accommodation

Your report is a ray of light in a dull stay at home day, thank you

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Hey Karen, thank you x I promise to speed up now.

It’s not like I’m going anywhere at the weekends is it
I hope all these small places survive. It’s so hard to see what it’s all going to look like isn’t it.

Yeah , next Airbnb accommodation be like 😷😱 I’ve been looking at the photos as I upload them. It’s not improving with time

Originally Posted by Cutiepie

The Palm Coast sounds lovely & certainly a place to consider when the kids have grown up

Thanks for continuing to post your report as I’m still enjoying reading them, helps brighten my day!

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Hi Kelly, thank you x It’s a beautiful spot and yep, if you’re not fussing about keeping kids occupied it’s a lovely place for an adults chillax holiday.

I stopped writing a couple of weeks ago... couldn’t settle to it but now I’ve added another day I’m going to crack on !

Originally Posted by Sparksy72

Supersized sandwiches and Hawaiian pizza with a sunny beach visit squeezed in between- a fab day.

See more...

Wasn’t it just ... thank you x

[Fuellady]

This sounds like our kind of holiday day... a little trip out for a while then relaxing followed by dinner. I want to say followed by an amazing dinner, but by all accounts it sounds fairly average. I love Italian food and always hate when I'm disappointed by it. By contrast, the food at Beach Belly Bob's looks fab. It must be so hard for these small businesses just now - I do hope they make it through.

Another lovely afternoon at the beach... I agree so much more relaxing with either no kids or grown up kids! It sounds like you're coming around to the idea of the beach being a nice place to spend a few hours.
I grew up by the sea and spent my childhood summers playing in the water and climbing on the rocks with no fear, but when it came to my own children I was beyond paranoid about something happening to them any time we went to the beach.

Scary walk home in the evening. The screams would have freaked me out totally - I think I would have preferred it to have been a party!

[smithlane]

Ooh Beach Belly Bob’s looks immense! It reminds me of a sandwich shop we went to in Monterey last year.
Boo to Storm Nester, I’m sure Daytona looks a lot nicer in the sun but at least it brightened up for when you got back to Palm Coast, Flagler Beach looks really peaceful just how I like them.
Dinner looks good. Jim has said we’re not allowed to visit an Italian ever again after various bad meals but sometimes I just really fancy a bowl of pasta after too many grilled foods!
Not nice about hearing the pack of coyotes, it’s hard to remember they’re hunting animals as they look fairly docile and cute when on their own, like the Wiley I saw last year in Death Valley

[Palm trees]

Shout trip report is so interesting, even more so at the minute when the world seems to have shrunk. I always enjoy your restaurant reviews and smiled at the lasagne/sausage combo!