We left Walt Disney World about 9:30 and headed towards Daytona Beach and St. Augustine. We got to Daytona USA just after 11:00 and went on a tram tour of the International Speedway. The 2nd and 4th turns have 31 degree banks that are between two and three stories high from the bottom of the bank to the top. Lake Lloyd in the middle of the track was dug 25’ to 30’ deep to create the banks. We saw the pit lane and the Gatorade Victory Lane where the winner and is car is taken after the race. The viewing stands are huge with the smaller side holding 57,000 and the larger stands holding 109,000 spectators. We watched two IMAX movies about Daytona and NASCAR and rode in a simulation of a race.
The 2007 Daytona 500 winning car
After we left Daytona we continued on I-4 East and then US Highway 1 to St. Augustine. We checked into the KOA Campground, filled our propane tank, and got set up. Did I say I was ready for fall weather? Well a little while after we arrived it started raining (no surprise there, it is Florida, after all) and we had a spectacular lightening and thunder storm. We finally got an internet connection so we could answer emails and I could get our travel blog caught up-to-date.
