One of the most diversified vacation destinations  for family traveling east of the Mississippi, is Daytona, Florida.  (Located within the magazine this month at another location will be an article about car racing, for which the area is world famous.)  Daytona Beach is central to traveling the southern East Coast section of the U.S.A.

Beyond, car racing, plus there are museums, Daytona Beach Symphony, a Seaside Music Theater of the performing arts, and much, much more to visit.

One can hear top performers and even the London Symphony Orchestra at the Peabody Auditorium or see La Boheme at Seaside Music Theater. Visit the marvelous Museum of Arts and Science and dine at hundreds of restaurants for all tastes. Daytona is dedicated to serving the visitor.

One of the most fascinating places in the area is the Seaside Musical Theater (SMT) which is truly a masterpiece of architectural design.  Located within the News-Journal Center, 221 North Beach Street, Daytona Beach, Florida.  There are two theaters which house the activities of performing arts:

Josephine Field Davidson Theater
The intimate, yet grand 850-seat traditional proscenium theater with orchestra pit is state-of-the-art. Ideal for live theater, dance, concerts and recitals, the theater also offers a dramatic setting for business meetings, lectures and more. Great sight lines from every seat allow audience members to feel connected to the action on stage.

Elaine & Thurman Gillespy, Jr. Theater
News-Journal Center’s 250-seat studio theater is a thrust-proscenium hybrid. The proscenium hides 28 counter-weight fly lines and movable baffles to close the opening arch down for smaller productions. The stage literally thrusts into the theater’s seating area allowing the audience to surround it.

The Josephine Field Davidson Theater is the only professional music theater in the Southeastern United States which combines a full pit orchestra with its productions. 

The Daytona Beach Symphony.   This symphony society performs six annual concerts which feature internationally acclaimed orchestras and soloists. They also perform the annual Daytona Winterfest, a January festival which combines world-class performances and cuisine.  Founded in 1952, they are past their half-a-century mark!  Located across from the Ocean Center, Peabody is a 2,560 seat auditorium which is the area's concert showcase for world renowned artists, symphony orchestras, ballet companies, Broadway series and other touring performances. The facility is home to the Daytona Beach Symphony Society, the Civic Ballet of Volusia County and the Concert Showcase of Florida.   Location:    600 Auditorium Boulevard  •  Daytona Beach, Florida 32118  •  386-671-3460

Another one of the area highlights of The Daytona Beach area is the Museum of Arts and Sciences, located at 352 S. Nova Road.  The 2007 exhibits is a fantastic array of pieces from the world over:  PRE-COLUMBIAN ART, Objects of Desire (Jeweled Treasures From the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History), Anthony Quinn’s Eye (A Lifetime of Creating & Collecting Art),  Gordon Parks (The forty photographs in this exhibition were taken by the world-renowned photographer Gordon Parks, 1912-2006),  Paintings by Kevin Mc Namara, and lots lots more.

“The Permanent Collection:  The Center for Florida History combines interactive experiences, exhibitions, and objects to tell the story of Florida’s historical and cultural development, from prehistory to present.

The Center is home to the most complete fossil record discovered in Florida. The exhibit centers around the impressive 13-foot tall skeleton of the Eremotherium laurilardi or Giant Ground Sloth which was excavated in 1975 in an important Pleistocene fossil site called the Daytona Bone Bed. The vegetarian could have weighed three to five tons and eaten a daily ration of 300 pounds of plants abundant in the area.

The best-known specimens of the rare Cuvieronius Elephant were also uncovered at the site. It was one of three species of elephant living in Volusia County during the time of the sloth. It was previously thought that the elephant existed in West Florida and became extinct one million years ago, but the fossil discoveries in Daytona date back only 130,000 years.”

Planetarium shows are included with Museum admission. Planetarium seating is subject to availability. 

The Southeast Museum of Photography is Florida’s only museum dedicated exclusively to photography.  All museum exhibitions and events are presented on the Daytona Beach Campus of DBCC at 1200 International Speedway Blvd, three miles east of I-95. The museum is located in Building 100. Admission is free. Visitor parking is available. For detailed exhibition and program information call the museum information hotline at (386) 506-4475.  A new location is presently being built to house the Museum.  “The Southeast Museum of Photography at Daytona Beach Community College is a vibrant, dynamic museum with an impressive international reputation of leadership for photography exhibitions, publications and educational programming.”     Their list of past exhibits is very impressive, as is the permanent collection.  The Museum’s Permanent Collection  of more than 3,000 photographs spans the history of photography and includes work by William Klein, Sally Mann, Harry Callahan, Gordon Parks, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand, Aaron Siskind and Robert Rauschenberg.

There is the Halifax Historical Museum   which is located in the 1910 Merchants Bank building.  The two-story interior walls are graced with hand-painted murals depicting area scenes, and highlighted by Beaux Arts styling of stained glass windows and lighting.

 “The focus of the museum is to present the history of the greater Daytona Beach area with artifacts dating from 5,000 B.C. including the local Native Americans, the Spanish and British colonial periods, early pioneer families, beach auto racing, World War II and vintage toys.  The museum offers a research facility with old city directories, documents and maps as well as an extensive photographic and postcard collection. 

A theater with seating for 50 features a high definition television and videos on the history of the area. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.  Location:  252 South Beach Street, Daytona Beach, Florida.

Ormond Memorial Museum and Gardens

This art and garden center is a worthy stop for any traveler. Below is an art piece on display in '07.  Since there is way more than I can list here, I suggest you go to their exhaustive web site to find out what this unique place is “all about.”  Location: 78 East Granada Boulevard, Ormond Beach, FL 32176

            Many weddings are performed in locations like

            the above within the lovely garden settings.

One should never miss a trip to the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse , the tallest lighthouse in Florida.  Once can walk up to the top for a "never to be forgotten view."  Or a visit to the Casements , the former home of John D. Rockefeller on Ormond Beach, while in the Daytona Beach area.. 

Yes, Daytona Beach is a travel destination one can actually spend the entire vacation visiting and not run out of exciting things to do.  Not to mention, unbelievable beaches to enjoy!  Happy Traveling.