The weekend came early for LB and myself when I was happily able to take half a day off work Friday. We had originally planned to head to our Daytona Beach destination on Saturday morning, but a last minute decision to add an extra night to this mini-vacation resulted in a drive down on Friday afternoon. We packed, kissed Elvis goodbye, and headed south. After only one stop for a Chik-Fil-A diet lemonade, we arrived at the Hampton Inn and began making plans for the evening.

Eventually deciding to stop at Racing’s North Turn, we enjoyed hot wings, salad, and musical entertainment by a group calling themselves “Parallel”

Day 2

Saturday morning began with breakfast at the hotel then picking out a lounge chair by the pool. The weekly Saturday pool part at Hampton starts at 12:00 with D.J. Drew and his pool party playlist. The Hampton Inn Daytona Shores Oceanfront is a unique hotel. The general manager Sandy (shown above in the coral colored dress) has put together a weekly summer pool party including a cookout (all you can eat burgers, hotdogs, chips, and drinks). At a designated time during the pool party, she has the kitchen and cleaning staff out for introductions and an amusing dance to the song “Hot Hot Hot” by Buster Poindexter.LB and I enjoyed some pool time during our visit.

And he enjoyed trying out the picture taking features on his new phone.

Typically the summer will bring with it afternoon showers. This Saturday was no exception. When the wind blew my hat off of my head I decided it was time to pack up and go to the room.But the day was not over. The summer shower ended and it was time to get ready to go out for the evening. The Daytona Beach FL Bandshell Live Summer Concert Series hosts tribute bands every Saturday night. This weekend featured a band called Wholigans. I probably don’t need to elaborate at this point… just click the link and check out their website. We enjoyed the show and shared a Mahi-Mahi taco from Sloppy Joe’s, then left the venue to do the unthinkable… walk back to the hotel.

Let me say that again…

WALK back to the hotel

That’s me with my chair in tow, about to complete a 5.5 mile trek back to Hampton Inn. My take on this: I have logged MANY miles on the treadmill or through a mall, etc., but walking on the beach is a totally different experience. My calves are cursing me as I type this post.

The walk back was long, but I’m happy to say we made it.

Along the way we encountered a cookout on the beach (grill and all), a pair of glasses, a cover band, and this sea serpent: someone spent a lot of time on this fella… and I appreciate the effort. He was pretty cute.