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Daytona Beach, Florida, circa 1904. "Bathing hour on the beach at Seabreeze." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Yes, the beach in Daytona is real smooth, and real salty. We drove our new 1966 convertible up and down it for a few days, and about six months later we had a very rusty convertible.
Daytona was long known for having wide and level beaches with very hard-packed sand. Before there was the speedway they raced on the beach. The consistency is similar to the Bonneville salt flats so it's excellent for high speed long straight runs. I went to school in Daytona for a couple of years and the beach is plenty hard enough to drive on. Good for jogging on too.
The lady on the extreme right is flashing her ankle!
Is that not a 1904 Oldsmobile Model 6C?
The "horseless carriage" is a "curved dash" Oldsmobile - introduced in 1901 and generally credited as being the first mass produced automobile.
Gentlemen start your equines! (Sorry, I could not resist)
Not that different.
Driving on a beach has always seemed wrong to me. I didn't realize that the tradition was as old as this. Did they have buggy races on the beach back then?
This shot has a lot going on. First, I'm surprised that the "horsless carriage" isn't getting more attention. Second, I like the two wheeled cart. Last but not least,the lady in the white dress sure knows how to "set a rail"!
Looks like the first run of the Daytona 500 was a laid back affair. Must have been a lot of caution flags for "debris" on the track.
Allow me to be the first to comment on the likely lack of sanitation along the sandy beach. I would not like to share a beach with horses, thank you.
A complete contrast to beach picnic, which is less than forty years on. Though I am not sure that I would want to laze on the beach with all those animals around.
They ruin the callipygian moment of the lady on the rail.
Horrors, a gas buggy allowed on the beach -- and they are exposing a child to the dangers of riding on it!
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