Beaching on a Budget

From time to time, Old Lady Otts invites fellow travelers to share their tales of glory.

I hope you will enjoy the following observations and recommendations by beach enthusiast Sara Siano:

My husband and I love visiting St. Augustine and Daytona Beach, in Florida.

However, even when you’d think the kiddos would all be back in school and the lodging should be cheaper as a result, our favorite hotels in those cities still often cost a king’s fortune. 

Once every few years, I’m compelled to book a room directly on the beach. There’s nothing quite like taking your coffee out onto the balcony and watching the sun slowly emerge from the Atlantic, heralded by laughing gulls and frolicking dolphins.

But this is not one of those years. With hotel, gas and restaurant prices insanely high, we needed a strategy if we were going to get to Florida at all.

My Portuguese husband, Mário, found our answer in the town of Palm Coast. Located midway between Daytona and St. Augustine, its lack of a big, in-town public beach makes it super-affordable, and its large colony of Portuguese-Americans gives it a European flavor that we’d encountered only in places like Boston and Miami.  

This “flavor” translates into lively Portuguese restaurants and bakeries where you can count on being greeted with a warm smile and a “Bom dia!”

You can enjoy a classic Continental breakfast at one of these budget-friendly bakeries.

My favorite is Delícias of Portugal II (10 Cypress Point Parkway, Unit #101, Palm Coast, FL 32164), where the mouthwatering array of pastries makes it hard to choose just one or two.

Two suggestions: lemony “esfolhadeli” or the classic “pastel de nata,” a delicate custard tart.

In the mood for something more substantial? Try a toasted Muenster cheese sandwich on buttery bread with a galão (Portuguese for “gallon,” a big whipped-cream and cinnamon-topped latte), and a Compal, the purest, sweetest juice that will ever pass your lips. Two words: Pear. Nectar.

As we left, we loaded up on pão seco (fluffy, crusty rolls as big as your hand). They’re heavenly with your favorite sandwich fillings from the local grocery store.

Here’s one of my best money-saving tips: Have these sandwiches with some chips and fresh fruit for dinner, rather than dining out. Make it a picnic at the beach! If you want to splurge, splurge at lunchtime when menu prices are lower.

A place to consider staying is Legacy Vacation Resorts Palm Coast (98 Palm Coast Resort Boulevard, Palm Coast, FL 32137).

Sometimes, the resort offers an entire two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with full kitchen, washer/dryer and patio for surprisingly reasonable prices. The pool is large and sparkling clean. Compare this with a similar property in Daytona!

Daytona and St. Augustine are roughly 45 minutes from Palm Coast (Daytona to the south, St. Augustine to the north). Don’t take the freeway to either one. Why not?

To me, one of the highlights of this trip is being free of the freeway and cruising up and down the coastal highway A1A with windows down and stereo blasting.

A1A gives you candy-colored beach houses and stuccoed Venetian mansions to drool over, but the main attraction is, of course, that sparkling Atlantic Ocean.

Fringed with gently waving sea oats and dotted with surfers, skimboarders and just generally happy-looking people, the ocean beckons you. It’s calling you to pull over and start splashing too, to become one of those who feel and smell and taste the waves instead of simply glancing at them as you speed down the road. You’re on vacation; you have the time. Jump on in!

Daytona as a day trip from Palm Coast is perfect – but do check the weather forecast first. Our time there was cut short by a storm so fierce that lifeguards drove up and down the beach, warning swimmers out of the water as it approached. Still, we managed to steal a couple of blissful hours beforehand.

Bottle-green waves, warm as bath water, lap at the fine sand here. All around, you hear giggles and shrieks of happy children. 

I alternated between bodysurfing (the waves break at just the right distance from shore for this) and just lying in the sand at surf’s edge, seeing nothing but a sapphire sky, soaking up the sun as the water rushed under me. There is no better place to be on God’s green earth than Daytona Beach on a summer afternoon.

Sun Splash Park (611 South Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach, FL 32118) is our go-to beach access point when we’re only there for the day. Plenty of parking, restrooms and outdoor showers provide all the conveniences needed to clean up before heading out to a restaurant.

If you plan to be there all day, bring your own umbrella and chairs. You just saved a hefty price in rental fees!

Does being in the ocean make you crave seafood? Me too! So, I’ll share with you a couple of my favorite après-beach spots. Both are ultra-casual and delightful.

At 3701 South Atlantic Avenue, you’ll find Crabby Joe's Deck & Grill. It’s built atop the Sunglow fishing pier and is the only place I know where you can eat seafood while watching the surf swirl beneath your feet through gaps in the plank floor. Ask for a table in the open room, next to a window. It’s worth the short wait.

Here was my splurge: Torn between the crab cakes and the coconut shrimp appetizers, I ordered both. Yes, a full meal would’ve been less expensive, but for my $30.00 I got pure, unadulterated seafood bliss. No bread, no fries, no fillers. No regrets.

Behind the restaurant on the pier, you can rent a fishing rod and buy frozen bait. Sharks and rays abound, and I’ve caught several small yellowfin tuna here as well. If, like me, you’re a catch-and-release fisher, be prepared to encounter some young entrepreneurs who will beg you, with teary Puss in Boots eyes, to give them your prize instead. They turn around and sell them to local sushi bars. Just saying!

(Update about Crabby Joe's: Due to storm damage, Crabby Joe's Deck & Grill is temporarily closed, but plans to reopen. Progress on the repairs can be followed on Crabby Joe's Facebook page.)

A bit farther down the road, in Ponce Inlet, is Down the Hatch (4894 Front Street, Ponce Inlet, FL 32127), with its classic Old Florida fish-camp vibe. You can sit out on the deck and listen to live music while watching one of those famous Florida sunsets. Seagulls and pelicans greet fishing boats coming in for the night, laden with all sorts of delicacies for the delight of tomorrow’s diners.

No matter what else you order here, you have to try their legendary smoked fish dip. Their dinners run in the twenties to mid-thirties, but portions are generous.

Sandwiches and baskets are more than reasonably priced. I’ve been eating here for over thirty years and have never been disappointed.

A divine Daytona diversion, perfect for a rainy day, is a visit to Angell & Phelps Chocolate Factory (154 South Beach Street, Daytona Beach, FL 32114).

After a short tour of their spotless manufacturing facility, you’re given a free sample and turned loose in the showroom. Then, the delicious agony of choosing: key lime, raspberry, maple creams, caramel nut clusters, chocolate-covered bacon (very popular) and so many more flavors.

St. Augustine, up A1A in the other direction, has so many charms that we’ll have to devote another entire article to them. Today we had only a few hours to visit, so our choice was Vilano Beach, just north of the Historic District. Vilano is enjoying a renaissance, with lots of improvement going on. The pavilion has adequate restrooms and outdoor showers, but the beach itself is lovely.

Far less crowded than Daytona, it has the same warm water and nice sand that’s good for barefoot walking or cycling. Popular with skimboarders, its waves are gentler (great for swimming, not so conducive to surfing or boogie boarding).

Head to the right and around the bend to Porpoise Point, loved by kids because of its sandbars, tidal pools and dolphin sightings. As in Daytona, you can drive on Vilano Beach, but having gotten stuck in the sand there once I can’t recommend it!

Grab a three-pound bag of unsalted, unshelled peanuts (at the local Petco) and you can enjoy at least an hour of squirrely cuteness with the entire family…or make lots of new human friends.

Just head over to any of St. Augustine’s shady parks and have a seat in the grass under a Spanish moss-draped live oak.

Open that bag (be sure to make lots of crackling sounds) and watch a curious little squirrel appear out of nowhere. Toss him a nut and prepare for his friends and family to stage an impromptu reunion…with you as the caterer.

Hear some chattering overhead? Those blue jays and woodpeckers like peanuts, too. Some are clever enough to catch a peanut in mid-air if you toss it up to them.

Passersby will stop to admire your Dr. Doolittle abilities. With three pounds of peanuts, you can afford to give them a handful with an offer to join in the fun!

To help offset the cost of all our driving, I used the Murphy Drive Rewards app. Murphy USA stations are found outside many Wal-Marts.

In addition to their often having the best gas prices, they offer the Rewards program. With this app, you rack up loyalty points each time you buy gas there, plus you can win free bonus points each week simply by logging on and “revving up.” A hundred points will get you ten cents per gallon off your first twenty gallons. You’re welcome!

Finally, here’s a bonus: a low-cost way to enjoy a balmy Palm Coast evening. There’s a condo/restaurant complex called European Village (101 Palm Harbor Parkway, Palm Coast, FL 32137).

Locals flock here on weekend nights to stroll around and meet up with friends and neighbors in a manner reminiscent of the Italian passegiata.

Strings of lights radiate from a stage in the plaza’s center where you can often find a live band. Nice bars and restaurants (Irish, Indian, Italian and more) line the Village’s perimeter. Settle in at any one of their sidewalk cafés, relax and enjoy the show.

Relaxation…that’s what this time is all about. I hope your vacation is everything you’ve dreamed it would be!

(About Sara Siano: When not exploring, she can be found at home with her husband, five rescue dogs, four cats, and two lovebirds.)

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