Bill Hall's 91st Birthday at New Smyrna Beach

Make a Smilebox photobook

This year, we took Daddy to New Smyrna Beach for his 91st birthday celebration. New Smyrna Beach holds so many memories for the Halls. Daddy was born and raised in Orlando, FL...long before Disney. His father would take the kids (7 of them) to New Smyrna for the day, and get in some good swimming, while the kids played. As the "boys" (6 of them) got older, they would swim the inlet between New Smyrna and Daytona for a challenging swim...Funny, there were sharks back then,as well, but that did not seem to deter the Hall boys.

Later, when Daddy had a family of his own, living in Eustis, FL, it just seemed natural to take his girls to New Smyrna during the summer. We stayed in a motel run by a Greek family, and got to stay for free, as Mama and Daddy would run the units while the family took their own vacation....We also stayed longer as Daddy would "hustle" golf to keep us there...While he commuted to Eustis for the week to work the nursery, Mama and us girls would stay at the beach. That motel became, and is still, the main lifeguard station on the beach.

As Mama also loved the beach, we continued to travel as a family to New Smyrna, even into my college years and afterwards, when we were all married with kids of our own. The family met, as a whole in 1980, and we introduced our kids to body surfing, riding the floats, dreamcicles, snow cones, Norwoods, the inlet, shells, and all the other activities associated with the quieter beach...New Smyrna.

So, it was so natural to take him back for a trip for his birthday. Adam and Lori came over for the weekend with his great grandkids. Though the waves were mild, we still got in some boogie boarding and crab hunting. The kids, old and young, loved all the sand and surf.

Margaret, Miriam and Ted, Mim's friend, Sherry, and David and Dianna came over on Sunday armed with 91 Orange slices and a variety of sweet treats. We ate at Norwoods, one of the only restaurants Daddy wanted to eat at....he used to know the owner, and even helped him clean green turtles, before they became endangered. Norwoods used to make a mean "green"turtle soup! They also had the coolest tables with glass tops and a variety of shells and sea "stuff" on display beneath. Though the old restaurant sign is the last remaining reminder...the new Norwoods has the same excellent seafood.

Margaret spent the night, and began searching for the old White Sands Motel...we think it is the new massive condo, The Pelican, . We all had lunch at JB's Fish Camp...great food and still has the charm of "old" New Smyrna. JB's Marina was where Mama and Daddy outfished Dean and I when we all took off one stormy afternoon to fish the Halifax River! Margaret returned to Monticello.

We met up with a couple, Jack and Joanne Yelvington, who were good friends with Mama and Daddy. Had a nice lunch on Wednesday, visited, laughed, and Dean and I took Daddy to the New Smyrna Golf Course...many memories for him.

On Thursday, Mim came back and we all headed for that main lifeguard stand to search out those cool hydra-wheelchairs. I don't know who was more excited, when we wheeled him down to the surf, where he could smell the salt air, hear the surf, and even put his feet into the sand and surf. Talk about full circle...the first motel now housed the wheelchairs that provided him with the access to the beach, that would not have been possible without them. I know Mama was smiling down on that scene!!

Mim stayed until Friday, and in came Mike and Adie Price to celebrate a little more before they went to visit David and Heather and Emily for the 4th. We ate at a restaurant on the river...The same location that we would pick up fresh shrimp brought in by the shrimp boats the night before, so many years ago.

All in all, Daddy had a most exciting time....ate well, slept hard, remembered so much. He and I dropped Dean off in Daytona, to meet up with Adam, who had tickets for the Coke Zero 400. Daddy still remembers when part of the race was run on the beach.... Happy Birthday, Bill Hall...We all love you so much!
LOVE,
YOUR FRIENDS..... YOUR FAMILY