The Casements, New Smyrna Beach, the Top of Daytona

Sunday, January 12, 2014

The Casements

Yesterday we toured The Casements, the restored summer home of John D. Rockefeller.  The home was originally built by a Baptist minister in the 1900s, purchased and added to by Rockefeller in 1918 when he was in his early 70s and lived in by him until his death there at the age of 97. Subsequently it became, for awhile, a girls finishing school, a rest home and part of the Ormond Hotel, which was across the street. Finally it was abandoned and became what a volunteer docent described as "the equivalent of a crack house".

Aerial View, date unknown but probably 1950s

The City of Ormond Beach purchased the property in 1972. By 1979 they had obtained a Federal grant to help with restoration. The intent was not for the property to be a museum  but for it to act as a cultural and activity center for the community.

They are quick to point out that because of the significant damage the building sustained and the multiple uses to which it had been put over the years the configuration of the rooms is not what it had been in Rockefeller's time. They have tried as much as possible to furnish the rooms with as many period pieces as possible. There are many photographs which show the original state of the rooms, as Rockefeller's personal photographer lived nearby. The one room you are not allowed to take photographs in is called the Rockefeller Room. It contains Rockefeller's original desk and writings. Photography is forbidden because they are afraid the pictures might be posted by scammers on eBay as items for sale.

We learned that Rockefeller neither smoked nor drank. If you did, he would do business with you, but he wouldn't socialize with you. He was famous for giving out dimes to people he met. He used to give out nickels, but they got too heavy in his pockets. The docent said that he got 1,000 letters a day from people who wanted money from him. He was very generous, but was widely disliked and envied because of his wealth and the way he did business.

It's an interesting and worthwhile tour, free with donations accepted. We will likely go back for either cooking or pilates classes next week. More information is at www.thecasements.net

The Sun Porch

Photo of the Sun Porch

We left the Casements and took another road trip, down to New Smyrna Beach. We had been there many years ago, some time around 1996,  and had lunch at a restaurant on the beach. We thought we would go see what the town was like now and maybe lunch at the same restaurant.

We should not have been surprised that things have changed. We weren't sure we were in the right area, everything had been so "beachified" with trendy little bistros, crab shacks, souvie shops, etc. What we remembered was a beach restaurant, a sand lot parking area, maybe an Ace Hardware nearby and some low rent looking condos. Now the end of the street had a big sign announcing it as Flagler Avenue. The restaurant was still there, but we couldn't be sure it was the same one because everything else around it had changed so much. The sand lot parking area had been turned into a real parking lot and it was full, so we drove around some more looking for our little restaurant before giving up and heading home. Internet research later on determined that this was indeed our restaurant, but Peg was glad we hadn't eaten there because it would have spoiled the memory of the first time we ate there. She remembers that? I sure don't. I barely was able to remember the restaurant, much less what we ate there.

We decided to go the Top of Daytona for lunch, but it wasn't open when we got there so we went back home to recharge (nap) and came back for their happy hour.

Top of Daytona bills itself as, what else, the highest view point in Daytona with a 360 degree view from the bar and restaurant. Carlos was our bartender.

Carlos

We ordered drinks and an appetizer of Zuppa di Pesce. The soup came out in a huge bowl filled with mussels, clams and shrimp all in a tomato broth accompanied by garlic bread. Delicious! So good we forgot to take a picture, which was unfortunate because it was also a very pretty dish.

We were joined to our right by a distinguished looking couple, the only ones in the bar dressed like they took going out to dinner seriously. I was happy to note, though, that he did wear a Charlie Brown tie. They were in town visiting a former student of his; he was a Political Science professor and one of the earliest experts on terrorism. His wife was in the Social Sciences. He is Cuban originally and she is Puerto Rican. They have traveled extensively. He speaks Portuguese and Carlos the bartender is Portuguese and we've been to Portugal and know how to say "Thank You" in Portuguese. So we all bonded. The view from the Top of Daytona is excellent and that is what we went for, but as usual it's the interesting people you meet that make the experience memorable.