My birthday was on Monday, you guessed it, I turned 40, and we took a little trip to Daytona Beach. We stayed in an oceanfront hotel, Hyatt Place. Their entrance to the beach and pool/spa were damaged during a hurricane and closed during our stay, so I got a pretty good deal. Plus it is pet friendly!
Why did we get a hotel room? We would have paid more for an oceanfront campground and would have had to travel farther. We left on Sunday afternoon to drive the one hour drive to Daytona Beach. We stopped at the outlet mall and walked around with the dogs and I got some new jeans. We got to the hotel and checked in and I was just in awe of the view we had.
The ocean is one of my happy places and being born in January in Pittsburgh, PA, I never got a nice, warm day on my birthday. I have been wanting to have a beach birthday for a very long time. When we could finally afford to go somewhere warm for my birthday, COVID happens and our plans were canceled for 3 years straight. So I finally got it for my 40th.
I can say in my head that I am 40, but having someone say to me “you’re 40” really bothers me. I don’t know why. When I turned 25, I was bummed because I was a quarter century old. Then 30, I was in denial of getting older then got the flu the next day. I have been ignoring my birthdays since then mostly because I have high expectations, and always get mad at myself for doing so.
I was not going to be in Florida in January and NOT have my beach birthday. The weather was great while we were there, in the 70’s, but the water was FREEZING, so no swimming in the ocean, but we did end up finding one of three dog friendly beaches. I got to dip my toes in the ocean with Tucker, Moxxi does not like her paws wet, so she just watched. She does like looking at the ocean just like me and we sat on the balcony together. Tucker seems to be afraid of heights like Brian, so they stayed in the room most of the time.
For my birthday dinner, we went to Hog Heaven BBQ. It was amazing! I got brisket with mac ‘n cheese and hush puppies. Brian got a platter with everything (pork, chicken, brisket, ribs) with fries and coleslaw. They had outdoor seating, so the dogs came with us!
It was a good two night, three day trip. I enjoyed it and think we may go back before we leave Florida. Definitely have to visit the dog beach again. This was my second best birthday. My first is when Brian surprised me with a trip to Cove Haven Resorts in the Poconos. Even though it was below zero when we were there, we had tons of fun!
Here are the other pics we took while in Daytona. Mostly the dogs enjoying the couch and the king sized bed.
~Happy Travels!
Valerie is a full-time RV’r. She has her degree in Hospitality, Travel, and Tourism. She loves to travel with her husband and 2 dogs. She would love to answer any questions and can be reached at owner@worklesscampmore.com