Best For: The real adventure-seeking families that are willing to forget the stock-car stereotypes.
Stay: The sunflower-yellow Shores Resort & Spa is on a quiet stretch of A1A. (Contrary to expect- ations, the thunderous stutter of chopper exhaust was not the weekend’s sound- track.) Guest rooms are cheerful and cozy, but chances are you’ll quickly migrate to the heated pool (for little people) and full-service tiki bar (for big people). At sundown, the s’mores kit from the mini bar truly inspires a kumbaya moment at the poolside fire pit. The following morning, chocolate-chip silver-dollar pan- cakes await at Azure, the hotel’s restaurant—score!
Play: Cruise atop the khaki sand, and you’ll definitely notice boys excitedly observing the parked Jeep Wranglers as if they were rhinoceroses in a wildlife preserve. Over at the Trike Shop on Beach Street, the sparkling chrome hogs inspire a brand of gawking typically reserved for sugar-dusted confections and action figures. In Daytona, there’s nothing new about driving on the beach (tradition dating back to the early 20th century) and motorcycles (ever heard of Bike Week?). Through little eyes, however, they’re eye-bugging, jaw-dropping, do-it-again-Daddy forms of entertainment.
Shop: Nicole’s Beach Street Mall is a colossal treasure-trove of antiques and whatchamacallits. As boys sit on the floor playing with boxcars and firetrucks, moms discover vintage Gucci handbags for less than a tank of gas.
Eat: Decked out in a Skittles color palette, Lighthouse Landing (386.761.9271) is a 40-year-old fish camp in Ponce Inlet, 15 minutes south of Daytona. The restaurant serves a stellar, hoagie-size soft- shell-crab sandwich and gator bites the size of doorknobs. Sit at a picnic table on a dry dock boat with a Blue Moon draft (big people) and lemonade (little people), and watch as pelicans dive into the inlet and come up with small silverfish. Do it again, Daddy. For more info, please visit: daytonabeach.com.
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