Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

I find it more than amazing that you can start out, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, in one direction and end up in a totally different place. For the Labor Day Holiday we decided to visit a State Park that offered canoeing only to have our plans derailed when we found out it was pretty much closed.

Alex did some quick thinking and we decided to drive a little further down the highway to Daytona Beach. I had been there ages ago coming in for a visit from Denver, so it seemed like a great way to take some pictures and end the Summer. As usual, click each photo for a better view.

To reach the beach, or "Beach walk" as they call it, you have to go over one of several bridges. The one we took offered an interesting view of some of the others.

Daytona Beach is a tourist area, sort of like Disney World, only the beach is the main attraction. The City has built in other things to do while you enjoy some of the nicest beaches around but you get the feel that the beach is why you visit the area.

Several massive hotels dominate the beach front. And, I liked how this shot came out because it highlights just how much these hotels dominate the skyline.

There is also a strange combination of the faux old and the modern. Like this fake old castle, which is really an amphitheater, with a modern style mall and movie theater right next to another big hotel.

But the fixture that got our attention was this ferris wheel on the beach walk. It was just beginning to get dark and we hung around to take pictures against the night sky.

I really like the way this one came out! You can almost feel the motion as you view the wheel.

And this one has an eerie look to it. It almost appears to be some strange machine like a Transfomer ready to change shape.

And what would a visit to the beach be without taffy? We didn't buy any but took shot after shot of the machine as it twisted the sugary concoction round and round.

Not a bad end of the summer trip... and we didn't have to fight even one wicked witch!