Casey Capers - USA: August 2019

Found this local (St. Joseph) Missouri treat - Chase's Cherry Mash.
Internet: Cherry Mash consists of a soft, cherry-flavoured centre containing maraschino cherries, covered in a mixture of chopped roasted peanuts and chocolate. The Cherry Mash was formulated in 1918. Today, Cherry Mash remains the Chase Candy Company's best-selling product. It is still produced in a factory in St Joseph, and can be found through the Midwest in most grocery and convenience stores.

Travelled back to Kansas City to be ready to load on Friday, 2 August.

We loaded at Derbigum Roofing - a full load, had to be tarped - and heavy for the trip back to Florida.

A bit of Missouri trivia at a truckstop.

A truckstop sunrise in Missouri.

Kansas City, Missouri to Orlando, Florida.

Plenty of time to do the run over the weekend. Stopped Sunday afternoon in Ocala, Florida and had a nice dinner at Murphy's.

Truckstop sunrise in Wildwood, Florida.

After delivering the rolled roofing in Orlando we went to the house in Datytona Beach. Jim had been experiencing health issues for several months and we had been in and out of Daytona Beach more often this year for him to attend appointments.
It was the usual mid-summer stormy, hot and humid weather.

Storm clouds to the south and the International Speedway and new Memorial Bridge.
A lot of photos of our neighbourhood in Daytona Beach, I walk a lot in the area, and usually something new or interesting to see and photograph.

Storm clouds around the Halifax River Marina.

Crossing Main Street bridge.

I started getting into a habit of walking each morning with our neighbour /friend, Diane. Mostly around sunrise along the Boardwalk and beach.

The Hilton Hotel on A1A.

The Ocean Centre / Convention Centre.

Three mornings we found this little plastercine/molding clay figures on the rail along the Ocean Walk. It was fun looking for them, but must have been someone staying in the nearby motels.

A new tourist spot on the Main Street Pier.

Found this orange dew melon in our local grocery store. A hybrid between a rockmelon (canteloupe) and a honey dew - tasty!

Jim was waiting on doctor appointments and tests, hard to fit everything in while on the road, so spent two weeks waiting. On Sunday, 18th August he went to the Emergency Room, and had emergency surgery that night and spent 9 days in hospital.
I spent 10-12 hours every day there, but continued the sunrise and neighbourhood walks mornings and most evenings.

Main Street.

This is the Advent Health Florida hospital where Jim was an inmate for 9 days - the building is only a few years old, very modern - 12 floors.

Jim was in the surgical care ward on the 7th floor and this is the view from his window, looking toward the east. On the horizon you can barely make out some of the high rise condos and motels along the Atlantic Ocean.

Daytona Beach is a Tree City USA, and this view shows why. Between the hospital and the ocean are housing subdivisions, shopping malls and shops, but are mostly hidden by the thick trees.
Research: The city was named a “Tree City USA” community for the 22^nd consecutive year – it met the four standards required to maintain its designation – a tree board or department, a tree care ordinance, a comprehensive community forestry program, and an Arbor Day observance.

On 22 August a Delta IV rocket launched just after 9am from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. I wondered if it would be more visible from the 7^th floor, but with the cloud cover, double-paned window glass – it was not as good as from the beach.

Internet: The Coquina Clock Tower in the Oceanfront Park has stood as a symbolic landmark since 1938. It’s four, one-of-a-kind, clock dials (which are transparent) feature the twelve letters of the city instead of the traditional 12 numerals.

The original clockworks were a mid-1930s vintage Seth Thomas timepiece that was operated through a system of weights and pulleys, but it was converted to electricity some time before 1989. The Clock Tower’s design is so unique and eye-catching that it magnetically attracts people of all ages who stop and look at it with admiration. The architect used beautiful native Florida Coquina rock, which was quarried locally, to build this impressive Clock Town structure.

Construction of the Clock Town started in 1936 as part of a Work Progress Administration (WPA) project to develop Boardwalk Park, and built the band shell and Clock Tower.

Main Street had an addition - advertising fundraising for Mercy Flights. A different photo of Main street.

Magnolia trees edge the Convention Centre parking lot - first time I have had a close look at the seed pods that appear after the flowers.
Internet: Magnolia seed pods, which resemble exotic-looking cones, spread open to reveal bright red berries, and the tree comes to life with birds, squirrels and other wildlife that relish these tasty fruits. Inside the berries, are the magnolia seeds.

Friday, we were watching Hurricane Dorian in the Atlantic Ocean. At this time it is expected to make landfall a couple of hundred kilometres south of Daytona Beach in 3 to 4 days. My morning walk showed clouds building for scattered storms.