Big Day Out in New Smyrna Beach

 John and I had a big day out in New Smyrna Beach. We paid ten dollars to get into a park with a trail, a circular boardwalk that spit out at the beach in different areas. There was a surfing competition going on. We walked the beach for a while, shoes in hand, and as always I spotted shells (mostly broken). Back on the trail we stopped to read signs about wildlife and plants (did you know out of eight breeds of florida snake only three kinds are venomous?). We walked to the dog beach and saw happy doggos play in the water and sand. And then finally we saw a gopher tortoise! He was munching on plants while he crawled through the brush. And then another tortoise! A baby. More walking. All I could think about was getting a coffee. The trail spit us out at a pavilion with bathrooms and a glass diorama of different seashells, with names like “Baby’s Ear,” “Netted Olive,” “Moon Shell,” “Angel Wing,” and “Jingle Shell.” Very cool. And lo and behold there was a red food truck that clearly said Espresso! I got a double espresso, and we both smoked a menthol in the pavilion. John tried my drink. “Bitter,” he said ( I only added one pack of sugar). We realized we were on the last bit of trail and the car was not far. We’d been walking for an hour and a half. 

So that was our detour, cause actually we got lost trying to find downtown NSB. But we made it there and parked the car near the Banyan Tree, a huge multi-trunked structure. “God, I love this thing,” John said. We passed a “Bamboo” gift shop and then headed to “Cool Beans” coffee shop where I got a small hot coffee (like I need more caffeine? Um, yes) (drinking one as I write this). Walked by markets and restaurants, souvenir shops and boutiques, and the flower outlet, where I’d previously gotten an orchid (it’s dead). We decided to eat at Flagler Tavern , and ordered nachos that turned out to be humongous. We were stuffed, and I feared the repercussions of the jalapeños. We walked back to the car, admiring the Banyan Tree one last time, and so thrilled to have seen a gopher tortoise. 

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