The Historic Sportscar Racing Classic 24 Hour at Daytona for 2021 took place from October 27-31. Instead of one 24-hour race, this event consisted of 24 one-hour (42 minutes of green flag) race sessions. The sessions began on Saturday afternoon, October 30, 2021, and finished the following day.
I had attended this race previously in 2015, its second year.
When HSR announced that Porsche would be the featured marque, I knew I wanted to go back this year. I bought a package of tickets and a Porsche Car Corral parking pass.
Although I hadn’t planned—or even participated in—a major Sunshine MINIs event in many years, when I heard that Mickey & MINI was cancelled for 2021, I decided to create a new event during its traditional timeframe in the Fall. Because I live in Daytona Beach, it obviously would be a MINI Beach Weekend.
I took the idea to longtime Sunshine MINIs member, Janet Ford, to determine whether there was interest from the members in the Sunshine MINIs Facebook group. People liked the idea and the interest seemed strong. One comment with several ideas came from Amanda Hancock who lived nearby, so we recruited her to join the planning team.
On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, I returned to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and to my office in Hunt Library on the fourth floor of the Student Union. I had last been in the library on Friday, April 3, 2020. At the time, we thought we might be out of the building for only a few weeks. It turned out to be about 14 months.
Orlando Wetlands Park is located in Christmas, Florida, which is east of Orlando. I arrived a little after 10:30 am. I accidentally brought my old, unusable, hiking boots, so I completed this hike wearing my Vans shoes. Fortunately, despite the park’s name, the trail was dry.
This was my first hike in 2021. Spring Hammock Preserve is a place I am very familiar with, having visited many times as a kid. The suggested route was only 3 miles on a flat trail. But I laced up my new waterproof Merrell hiking boots in case I encountered any wet places (I didn’t).
I set off down the road looking for a short parallel side-trail to the right. It didn’t seem to exist now, so I continued down the road to the trailhead instead.
The hike began a little after 1:00 pm on the Osprey trail, which was a wide and sandy trail where I encountered many other hikers.
I passed the Robin Trail on the right, intending to take that trail on the way back.
Just before the large pavilion, I took a left on a wooden boardwalk to explore a short side trail, as suggested in the book. The trail followed a small stream. Not far down this trail I heard a sudden rustling just ahead, so I had disturbed some animal. I wondered if it was an alligator. I never found out, but the possibility of it wasn’t unreasonable—as I would soon find out.
I hiked a short way down this trail until it was blocked by a fallen tree and seemed to be unmaintained beyond. I returned to the Osprey Trail and continued east.
Soon I arrived at the main point-of-interest on this trail: Question Pond (see photo, at top). This spring-fed pond usually has a hazy light-greenish-blue appearance. On this day it had another interesting feature: an alligator.
I watched the alligator for a bit and then continued down Osprey Trail. After a while I came to a broken boardwalk displaying a “BOARDWALK CLOSED” sign. The book said this boardwalk may be rebuilt soon, but it hadn’t yet.
Not far after I reached the end of the trail, clearly marked so with a sign.
On the way back I noticed a tall tree that I had missed, distracted by the view of trail’s end ahead. It looked like a storybook tree that might be home to elves or a portal to another land.
When I returned to Question Pond, the alligator was still there, floating nearer to the center. Again, I stopped to watch and photograph it.
When I came to the intersection of Robin Trail, I turned left to walk a short loop back to my car.
The trail followed the ridge next to a creek and ended at a railroad trestle. I climbed up the hill to have a look down the tracks.
I left the railroad tracks and walked back the way I came, looking for the side trail that would take me back to the start. I think I found the correct trail, but I missed an intersection somewhere along this section because I exited the woods in the wrong place, further to the west (next to the Environmental Center) that the map showed in the book. But my route was not significantly different.
Post-Hike Beer
Because I had plans to meet up with a friend later, I didn’t immediately stop for my traditional post-hike beer. Instead, I drove home, showered and changed, and drove to Beachside Brew Pub for beer and darts. I brought my copy of 50 Hikes so I could explain my ongoing challenge.
On September 15, 2020, my new Microsoft Surface Duo mobile phone arrived. The phone runs on Android but uses the Microsoft Launcher interface. Mobile Microsoft Office apps were preinstalled. Here is the unboxing.
The box included the white phone, protective bumper, and USB-C power supply. I did not install the bumper.
Because the phone does not have a headphone jack, I had already ordered a USB-C to 3.5 mm audio adapter separately.
Google and Microsoft apps were pre-installed.
Setup was very simple. I set my old Google Pixel XL phone on the table next to it and followed the prompts to transfer all apps and settings (including passwords) from one phone to the other. I was up and running in less than 30 minutes.
Here are some specifications:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform
6 GB RAM
128 GB memory
Two 1800×1350 high-resolution 5.6” touchscreens
11.0 megapixel camera with 4K video at 30 fps and 60 fps
I enjoyed Lake Mary Cars & Coffee and Daytona Cars & Coffee so much I wanted to attend all of the local events, at least once. So on August 9, 2020, I drove down to Winter Park (where the event is technically located) to attend Orlando Cars & Coffee. I found a space at the end of row and touched up any dirty spots on my Porsche Boxster (981).
After some photos of my car, it was time to browse the lot to see what was there. I walked over to the entrance to start. I would work my way back to my car.
Some interesting cars are shown below.
First was a group of Mazda Miatas, one NB and two NC generation examples.
I saw one MINI Cooper S that looked familiar, although I didn’t find the owner.
Next was a beautiful grey Porsche 911 Turbo Convertible with a creamy white interior.
Also, a bright yellow Porsche 911 Carrera S (997).
There was a pair of Honda S2000s.
Nearby was a rare BMW i8 hybrid car.
The supercars section included the usual examples by Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghini, and Porsche.
Although not a first-generation TT, I liked this grey Audi TT RS. One of the best car colors of all-time.
And finally, another Porsche. This one was a 911 GT3 RS (991).
After attending an enjoyable Lake Mary Cars & Coffee two weeks prior, I wanted to attend my local Daytona Cars & Coffee. On July 25, 2020, the first Daytona Cars & Coffee at ONE DAYTONA was held. I made plans to meet up with my neighbor, Dan, who was showing his new BMW M4 CS.
I arrived and parked my Porsche Boxster (981) next to a Porsche 911 Carrera S (997). Then I spent a few minutes with last-minute polishing and took some photos.
I met Dan and we wandered around the parking lot browsing the cars. I took photos of just a few favorites: a Porsche Boxster (986) and a Lotus Elise (Series 2).
The ONE DAYTONA plaza was reserved for cars whose owners had paid an entry fee for charity. Some favorites there were a Porsche 914 and Porsche 911 Carrera (964).
Dan had entered his BMW M4 CS, a special edition M4 with lots of carbon fiber bits.
I left Dan there and walked down the main street exploring the cars. The most interesting of them was a 1991 Honda Beat, a Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) car. The Beat is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-seat convertible.
On July 11, 2020, Lake Mary Cars & Coffee held their inaugural event. Lake Mary is less than an hour’s drive from Daytona Beach so I decided to enter my car in the show. I woke up early and enjoyed the morning drive, arriving at the shopping center location just before 8:00 am. I drove in and parked at the end of the Porsche row. I took a few minutes to clean up my car before having a look around and photographing the cars. I started with my Porsche Boxster (981) and the Porsche row.
At the other end of the Porsche row was a beautiful white Porsche Boxster Spyder (981).
Behind us was a row of Subarus.
Next, I wandered through the exotics and supercars section. The show included an assortment of cars from Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Porsche, Audi, Mercedes, and several others.
BMW had its own row with a great turnout.
The event was to support a charity, so I made a donation and received a souvenir car towel with the event name stitched on it.
Finally, I walked back to the Porsche row, which had a few different cars parked next to mine. We made a group of three convertibles.
Although the show hours were from 8:00 am to 11:00 am, most cars began to leave around 10:30 am. So, when most of the other cars in my row left, I headed for home—a morning well-spent enjoying some great cars.
After a short drive from the Lake Proctor Wilderness Area, I arrived at the Geneva Wilderness Area around 11:30 am. I ate a quick lunch in my car before starting the next hike just before noon.
There were others approaching the trailhead with their dogs, so I quickly started down the trail ahead of them. This was going to be a short hike but I could tell that the trail was going to be crowded.
After less than ten minutes walking, the trail reached a lake with a fishing pier reaching out to the center. On the pier I stopped to have a look around and take photos (see first photo and above). The water was calm and clear. I noticed people waiting for me to finish, so I quickly headed back to the trail.
I continued on the Loop Trail which cut across a thin strip of land between the two lakes in the park. I stopped to take some photos of the larger of the two lakes, on the left of the trail (the lake the Loop Trail encircles).
Off to the left of the Loop Trail, a short side trail took me to an outdoor chapel. Here I explored a little before taking a short break in shade of the chapel itself.
I rejoined the main Loop Trail where many hikers and mountainbikers were walking, riding, and resting. I passed them and continued south, past a small canal. This was the end of the shady half of the hike. Also the last of other people, as it turned out.
At the southern end of the Loop Trail I emerged into an open and sunny area with a wide and sandy trail. For the next few hundred yards it was very hot and very hard walking in the thick, soft sand. At the junction of the Flagler Trail, I turned left to continue around towards the lake. There was a marked (detour) trail to the right—which wasn’t in the 50 Hikes book—so I continued straight to the lake.
At the lake the trail was flooded, so I skirted along the far right side of the trail trying to stay on dry land. I had to jump a few puddles of water and did get my shoes wet once. Just past the flooded trail, the detour trail rejoined the main trail and I realized I could have avoided the flooded section. No real harm done! I might let the authors know so they can update their book, however.
The trail followed the lake shore and provided views across to the chapel where I had rested earlier. This section was also very sunny and hot with no shade.
Past the lake, I soon arrived at the Ed Yarborough Nature Center. On the right side, there were man-made houses for both bees and bats. I took a rest and enjoyed reading about them. Unfortunately, it seemed there were no bees at home and I also did not see any bats in the middle of the day.
I was hot and thirsty and nearly done. There was just one short section of trail left, passing through a gate, and along a sandy road back to the trailhead. This 1.9-mile hike took just over an hour to complete. The temperature at the end was 89°F.
I returned to my MINI, which was parked in the shade in its own little corral. I ate another sandwich before leaving the park just after 1:00 pm.
My drive home would take me near Sanford, so I planned to have my post-hike beer at one of my favorite local breweries, Wop’s Hops. In the parking lot I changed my shirt, socks, and shoes. Inside I ordered a pint of their Tipsy Trip C American Wheat Beer and found a table in the restaurant side of the building. Unfortunately, since it was Sunday neither of the owners, Greg and Pete, were there. Even so, it was a cold and refreshing way to reward myself for finishing two hikes from the book in one day.
