Just returned from a mini beach vacation to New Smyrna Beach and had a great time of it. You could probably tell that my husband and I were from New Jersey, as the water temp was 70 degrees, which is too cold for most Floridians but warm enough for us as we ventured out into the foamy, choppy sea and paddled ourselves silly in the crashing waves. The first day featured gale force winds and an angry sea so we opted for a nice long walk instead of water-play. The second day was calmer and warmer... the perfect beach day by NJ standards and we wore ourselves out by the end of the day. We managed a short trip to Daytona, but there was really nothing to see there, as the pier was closed for renovations... unless you're into biker bars and big hotels. I did get lots of photos and was thrilled to see a new species of "thing" namely the Portuguese man-o-war which is that blue jellyfish nestled up to the crab in the picture above. They were scattered all over the beach, like inflated balloons with withered legs, and I'm glad I was ignorant to the fact that they sting on contact, or I wouldn't have enjoyed myself so much in the surf!
