Up and Down, Slow and Easy

It’s been more than three weeks since my too-brief visit to Sebastian Inlet and I’m finally feeling like I’m hitting the ground running again. Weather-wise I may have pointed north a bit too soon as it’s been a bit cooler and wetter than expected, but I’ve also been watching the weather truly north so no whining.

For a few more days, I’m in a month-long share of a sweet little house in Ormond Beach with Kim, a former New Yorker, and her lovable chihuahuas. She could not be any nicer, and the location is surprisingly grand for an affordable price as I’m walking distance to the ocean and the riverfront. I’m also just eight miles north of too-busy Daytona Beach, but it didn’t affect me until this final week when the 84th Annual Bike Week is in full swing – one of the world's largest motorcycle events. Oh my God on scheduling!

Ormond Beach has a small town feel but is a small city with nearly 44,000 people and many more folks in high season. It’s actually known as “the Birthplace of Speed” as the wide, smooth sand was a proving ground for auto inventors and drivers from 1903–1911 -- the beginning of what later became NASCAR. The Ormond Garage, built in 1904 by Henry Flagler, accommodated the race cars with owners and manufacturers staying at Flagler's Ormond Hotel (c1887 but this grand hotel was torn down in 1992). It was Flagler who persuaded John D. Rockefeller to winter here, where after several seasons at the Ormond Hotel he purchased “The Casements” in 1918. He lived in this home seasonally until his death in 1937 at age 97; just shy of his wish to reach 100.
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In addition to an interesting history, Ormond Beach is surrounded by a number of state parks, and has neighborhoods with mostly single family homes built in the 1950s and ‘60s. However, Atlantic Boulevard (A1A) is a mishmash of housing, hotels and retail, and unfortunately, historic preservation didn’t begin here until the 1970s. I very much enjoyed time at the Four Park Corners along the riverfront, a docent tour of The Casements, the Art Walk, a Sculpture Tour, and learning about Mary McLeod Bethune at a library event. Thankfully, it was also possible for me to bike neighborhoods throughout town and head south throughout Daytona Beach. People aren’t overly-friendly but they’re still cordial both in and out of cars.

Of course it was cycling that brought me to discover Flagler Beach, a small seaside community founded just over 100 years ago. Actually, parking brought me there so I could bike over the Intracoastal and head a bit further north on two wheels to the Lehigh Trail in Palm Coast. This became a weekly trek as I enjoyed both the Trail option and the friendly, casual feel of Flagler Beach.
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I’m still trying to catch up on life, but in a few days I’m happily moving off-grid again to a site just south of the Ocala National Forest.