Nascar

On Saturday we headed to Daytona Beach for the Coke Zero 400 Nascar race. Nascar is something we will never get to experience in South Africa, and being able to go to an actual race in Daytona was a treat (I remember playing Daytona car racing at the video game arcades in Sun City and Sandton City!).

Also, because of the flooding, Kev organised for us to head up to Marianna from Monday to Thursday night so that we could dive the caves in the Panhandle along Merrit's Mill Pond. He also organised a cave DPV (Diver Propulsion Vehicle) course with Edd Sorenson from Cave Adventurers (www.caveadventurers.com). We would be losing our already paid cash for the Hydro Lodge, but at least up in the Panhandle the flooding from Debbie hadn't closed any of the caves, so we could get diving.

Although it's not really on the way, we drove back down to Orlando on the way to Daytona so that we could do some much needed clothes shopping at the warehouse stores. The trip was about 300km.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn less than 1km from the race track at Daytona. Once checked in, we caught a hotel taxi to the race. It was very much like going to a huge concert. We'd paid extra on our tickets to get a "fan view" entry which allowed us to walk through the center area of the track where all the motor-homes go, and where they check that the cars meet the race specifications and do pit stops, etc. The RVs are stacked up next to each other, row after row, and most have portable splash pools ... camping at a race track ... I found the idea pretty strange, but the atmosphere was that of happiness, excitement and anticipation. Nobody was irritated or pushy, and I can't think when I've ever been to a huge concert where people don't jump queues or get agitated and 'shovey'. The temperature was boiling though, I really wanted to jump into one of those splash pools!

The pre-race ceremony was scheduled to start at 7pm, so 30min before that we headed across to our seats which were close to the top of a huge grand-stand right in front of the start (and finish) line. Words can't describe the whole Nascar experience. It was huge, American, interesting, and weird. We learned the rules as the night went on (400 laps and about 4 hours). There were 5 crashes and lots of action. If you ever watch a Nazcar race, get the little portable video screen and ear-phones (it's called fan-view), it really enhances the experience and let's you know what's happening and what to look out for. The biggest thing I took away from the race is that it's very similar to any endurance sports event: fireworks at the start mean nothing, but patience, persistance and a little luck mean everything at the end.

On Sunday morning, we woke up late, grabbed a much needed hotel breakfast and then headed to the beach and the sea. The water was beautifully warm (28C), so we walked along the beach and then swam for a while. It really made me feel like I was finally on holiday and relaxing. We didn't take any pics, I'll have to get some of the beaches later, but the way they work the beach is to allow you to drive on and park your car. So there's a lane of parked cars, then an avenue to drive in, then a lane of rentable umbrellas and deck chairs, and then the sea. Some people just sit on their chairs in the sea. By about 11am the beach parking was full and there were people as far as the eye could see, stretched in either direction along the beachfront. Although the beach was full, it wasn't nearly as packed as Durban gets.

Afterwards, we headed back to High Springs. This time we went straight across Florida, through the Ocala National Forest, which is about 208km.

It was about a 3 hour drive. Once back at the Hydro Lodge we did laundry, got an early dinner at The Great Outdoors (our first restaurant), and then got ready to pack up and leave for Marianna early the next day.





Below are some pics of the Hydro Lodge and the Sante Fe River in flood. The Sante Fe river is fed by springs like Ginnie. Some of those springs are large enough to be dived, which is what makes this area so ideal for cave diving. Sante Fe and other rivers like Little River feed into the Suwanee River, and some of the springs we want to dive (like Peacock Springs) feed directly into the Suwanee River. You can see from the pics how flooded the rivers are at the moment.

Hydro Lodge in High Springs

Our holiday Ford

Sante Fe River in flood

Sante Fe River