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An early morning in Daytona Beach. It was pretty great to wake up and see the view out over the beach. We went out on to the balcony and spent a moment just looking out over the view. It was serene and a beautiful way to wake up.

There were two optional activities on this morning that we had the choice between as they ran concurrently. The first that, the one that we did not do was a tour of the famous Daytona speedway, the home of NASCAR and the famous NASCAR race the Daytona 500. We’re not really racing fans and we have mount panorama in Bathurst which while is different, we have seen a solid race track many, many times before. We decided to go for the more adventurous option of parasailing over Daytona beach.

We’ve never been parasailing before and obviously we were super excited. Braden said yesterday that there was a chance it would get cancelled as there is poor weather forecast. Well that didn’t happen and it was a beautiful day so we were on! We got picked up in a little van for the parasailing and got dropped off where the boats were parked. There were six people on our boat and we were to go up in groups of two. We started to get a bit scared as Ronnie has a healthy, normal fear of heights and the tow cable was 800ft long. That means based on the angle that the boat tows, we would be 500ft in the air. The high roller in Vegas was 550ft and we were inside a giant capsule and it made his knees weak.

We got harnessed up and sat in position on the back of the boat while the guy hooked us in. The boat started speeding up and we were lifted into the air. This was such an awesome feeling. As the rope kept lengthening and we got higher and higher, it was bliss. It was an extremely calm ride. Being in the boat was really loud with music and the engine, but when you are up in the sky, it is beautiful, very quiet and peaceful. We were just loving it. It was pretty scary and our arms were getting sore from hanging onto the harness so tightly but it was so great. The views of the ocean and Daytona in the distance were stunning. We also saw a pod of dolphins swimming underneath us. We got reeled back in after our ride which seemed to be done in the blink of an eye but in reality would have been at least 15-20 minutes. This was a really fun and great experience. We know you can do parasailing anywhere in the world but it is something we would recommend that everyone should do once in their lives. We would definitely do this again.

After this we had to rush straight up to our hotel room and grab our bags for bags to coach as we were on a tight schedule. This was a bit annoying as we were still in partially wet clothes. Luckily, we only had a short one hour drive to St Augustine. St Augustine is the oldest city in America. It is also one of the most beautiful ones we have been to. Paved streets with Spanish architecture including this giant and very old fort in the middle of the town.

We decided it would be a good idea to hire a scooter to drive around town on and explore. It was a small town but it was hot so we thought it would be a nice way to get around and look at everything and everybody that was getting around seemed to have the same idea. We found the nearest rental place but as it turns out Ronnie left his wallet on the bus! This was okay as Aimee could just rent the scooter and we could switch drivers around the corner. The problem was that Aimee has never ridden a scooter before. Aimee put the helmet on and did a practice lap around the rental yard. This was pretty good. She managed to get around. The guy helped her spin around and ride the other way around so she could do a lap the other way. She made it okay but when it came time to stop she freaked out and forgot to use the handlebar brakes and was instead trying to stop the scooter with her feet on the ground and accidentally accelerated…. right into the fence. The scooter smashed the bars of the fence right off the poles and she was on the ground with the scooter on top of her. It was a bit scary at first because it was a solid crash and she got up crying but from an outriders perspective it would have looked hilarious. We almost caught it on camera – but not quite! WeThe fence was destroyed but they somehow managed to repair it, no damage to the scooter and Aimee escaped unscathed. She hit her head on the fence but she was wearing a helmet so she was not injured and this did not cost us anything. We think they felt sorry for her.

We didn’t end up renting a scooter but we did end up renting a 4 seater golf cart. Ronnie has have driven many a golf cart around the course so he felt comfortable cruising in this bad boy. In St Augustine, any vehicle, registered or not is allowed on the road. This is way different to Australia. We were driving on actual roads in a golf cart with no seat belts on, it felt pretty wild but it was so fun. It started off pretty hard because of driving on the wrong side of the road, but we got used to it pretty quickly. Cruising around the beautiful downtown area that is paved with stone walkways and small boutique shops was lovely. It feels like a small European village.

We went and got this pizza that is apparently rated the second best pizza in America according to Trip Advisor. It was huge and incredibly greasy. We got a pepperoni and it was served with a few, also very greasy Garlic Knots. It was okay, but I certainly wouldn’t say anywhere near the best. Then we went to a gourmet popsicle store. This was awesome, Ronnie got a banana vanilla popsicle and Aimee got a guava cheesecake one. They were tops. We picked up Brendan and Jo at this store and all four of us cruised around together for a while taking in the sights and sounds of St Augustine. It was real good fun.

It was also decided earlier today that we were going to do a big American cook out which is basically a BBQ. We all chipped in $12 and we went to Walmart to buy a barbecue and assorted foods for later on. At the hotel there was this 700 year old massive beautiful Spanish moss tree that we were going to have the cook out under.

Sausages and burgers were on the menu. There was also a liquor store right next to the motel so of course we were getting around it. The whole group, including us got way too intoxicated before the food was even out, people playing beer pong and just getting rowdy. We were enjoying this thoroughly. It started pissing down rain for a solid 2 hours but that didn’t stop us. All the food got cooked and the grog got drank. It was excellent. 

St Augustine is a beautiful place and we really wish we got more time here but unfortunately in the morning we must move on. However, we hear Savannah is equally as beautiful which is where we are going tomorrow!

Much love

Ronnie & Aimee.