Trolley Boat Tours
Yes, it's a vehicle (which looks like a trolley) that has been designed and built in Daytona to motor its way through the water at a stately 10 mph. The Trolley Boat tours depart from Adam's Mark area at Ocean Walk looking much like a touring trolley. Then, it approaches the water, the pontoons are inflated, and in a couple of minutes ... it's a boat. On our trip the guide pointed out the former home of Batiste, former President of Cuba and describes his late 1800s art collection (which is on view at the Museum of Arts and Sciences), and the Butterfly House on Manatee Island, and other sights. After cruising the intercoastal, the boat crawls up on land, deflates the pontoons and goes on a driving tour of downtown historic Daytona.

The Southeast Museum of Photography.
This almost unknown gem is part of Daytona Beach Community College. In fact, many of the students of the college seem unaware it exists. It's their loss because the museum mounts challenging and thought-provoking shows and lectures.

Marine Center
Who could resist learning the stories of the creatures being healed in the Marine Center. There's Twiggy the Turtle, permanent guest. Originally Twiggy was thought to be stranded after the hurricane and could be rehabilitated and released, but Twiggy had other ideas. Instead of heading towards freedom this turtle just hung around refusing to go. Twiggy is not alone in the Turtle rescue center, there's Bubbles, a green sea turtle, who had a chunk taken out by a shark. Then, probably when poor Bubbles thought the worst was over, the propeller of a passing boat sliced into her shell. Frances named was after the hurricane. This sea turtle ate so many crabs that it impacted in her intestine. She's been getting laxatives for the past three months to slowly break up the impaction.

Turtles aren't the only wild creatures sheltered at the Marine Center. They've just opened a bird hospital. After the hurricanes of 2004 many birds were found apparently far from home, the hurricane lifting them out of their natural habitat and depositing them on the shores of the Daytona area. Some of the injured birds can be healed and then released. Others are too seriously injured. These birds will make the center their new home and earn their keep as educational birds, part of the teaching mission of the center. The bird hospital just opened in June 2004 and they already have over 200 birds with about 4 new ones arriving every day. It's the Mary Keller Bird Rehabilitation Facility. And tour guides are available to take you around and show you the infirmary (the hospital is offlimits),

LPGA International.
This is their headquarters, and it's open to the public. You can stop by for lunch in the gracious dining room overlooking the greens, or a round of golf at their two championship courses, Legends and Champions. The courses are always in tournament condition with a staff of 55 for maintenance. You can also sign up for clinics and instruction. But for those who just want to play around instead of play a round, there's the Practice Academy with three holes -- a par 3, a par 4, and a par 5.

Downtown history and Jackie Robinson Stadium
Although I've always thought of Florida as a place built yesterday, Daytona Beach actually dates back over 100 years. The Downtown Historic District, at the south end of downtown boasts homes and other buildings from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Halifax Historical Museum is in the original Merchant's Bank which opened in 1911, and much of the old features remain. For those wondering the intracoastal waterway is known in these parts as the Halifax River, hence the name of the museum. Along South Beach Street there's browsing fun in the shops and good eating in the restaurants.

One of the highlights is the Jackie Robinson Ballpark -- where the color barrier of professional baseball was broken by a courageous Robinson. Although now the home of the Daytona Cubs, when Robinson was swinging his bat it was for the farm team of the New York Yankees. The stadium is being renovated back to a 1940s look. Future plans include an interactive museum called the Jackie Robinson Experience. If they're playing, enjoy a baseball game watching the 2000 Champion Daytona Cubs play a full 168-game season at historic Jackie Robinson Stadium on City Island in Riverfront Marketplace. Call 386-USA-CUBS for game and ticket information

Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse
They say it's 203 steps (17 plus flights of stairs) to the top of the lighthouse. It could be. I lost count as I trudged up the what seemed to be an endless stream of steps. Being cheered on by others in the group ("you can do it") and lured by promises of a beautiful view, I did make it to the top. And the view is spectacular.

The beautifully restored distinctive red lighthouse dates back to the late 1800s. It's also one of the few that has all the original buildings intact. The Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station is a National Historic Landmark. Built of over 100 million bricks shipped in. Although the Coast Guard abandoned the lighthouse in 1970, the buildings and land were eventually deeded to the Town of Ponce Inlet and the Ponce de Leon Lighthouse Preservation Association. In 1982 a new beacon was installed and the Lighthouse was returned to use -- a beacon of light shining over the water. In addition to the lighthouse, explore the houses where the lightkeepers lived, and how they lived. The Lens Museum houses Fresnel lenses - giant prisms that transformed the light from a kerosene lamp into a beam strong enough to be seen away at sea. The Light Station is open seven days a week.

Museum of Arts and Sciences
This museum, affiliated with the Smithsonian, is the repository of quirky collections of the rich. Located on 90-acres in Tuscawilla visitors can roam through the Frischer Sculpture Garden, investigate Cuban art (donated by Mrs. Marta Batista, General Batista's widow), be amazed at the Root Family Museum collection which includes an authentic mid-1800s pharmacy complete with the original vials of medicines. The Root family also collected Coca-Cola memorabilia, racing memorabilia, train cars, quilts, stuffed 'teddy' bears and more. Then, there's the gems and jewelry of the Levine Collection. There's early American art, Chinese art, a planetarium, African cultural objects. Visitors get to spend a few hours poking through the treasures of the attics of the wealthy.

Perhaps the most exciting part is the 13-foot skeleton of a giant ground sloth discovered in 1975 only a few miles away. How old is it? About 130,000 years. Its formal name is Eremotherium laurilardi but it's also known as the Giant Ground Sloth and it dates to the Pleistocene fossil site called the Daytona Bone Bed.

Explore Florida's sugar mill ruins at Dunlawton Plantation Sugar Mill Ruins and De Leon Springs State Park
Volusia and Flagler Counties have history of settlements dating back to 1763. There are a total of 8 historic sites open to the public. Some with extensive ruins of former sugar mills. These two have interesting quirks about them.

Sugar was the crop of choice in early Florida because of the rich soil, and sugar mills thrived. You can still see the remains of these mills at several state parks. Spring Gardens Plantation at D eLeon Springs State Park has some of these slowly disappearing pieces of history, and there's an information brochure describing the history of the site. You can also have breakfast at the Sugar Mill Restaurant, famous for their cook-your-own-pancakes breakfast on griddles actually set into the table.

The Dunlawton Sugar Mill also contains ruins from its previous existence, but it has quite a strange recent history. The original Dunlawton sugar mill ruins date back to 1846 (when it was rebuilt and reconstructed), however, it also has dinosaurs. Not real ones, large faux creatures from the 1950s when it was a theme park called Bongoland. Frankly, it's worth a trip just to visit a place that has ruins of historic sugar mill, left over dinosaurs, and is today a botanical garden. Who could resist?

Lodging & Restaurants I stayed at the low-key, friendly and beachfront Bahama House. There's also Superior Small Lodging a service that lists over 40 small inns, hotels and B&Bs. Some with quite a fascinating history. A great place for a fun family dinner is Bubba Gump Seafood Company and Market. Breakfast? I loved the Daytona Diner behind the Harley place (yes, it definitely has a biker feel), especially the pancakes. Angell & Phelps Cafe offers a lovely casual lunch. In town Song Mongolian Grill lets you pick out your ingredients for the chef to cook. Casual, funky and on the water, we enjoyed outdoor lunch at Inlet Harbor Marina and Restaurant