Southern_Living_June_2017

TRAVEL & CULTURE

JUNE 2017 / SOUTHERNLIVING.COM

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St. Augustine

Miami

Daytona Beach

West Palm Beach

Vero Beach

Orlando

NEW SMYRNA BEACH

DELRAY BEACH

FLORIDA

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Ultimate Beach Hangout

Flagler Tavern in New Smyrna

Beach is one of those great places

that serve terrific food and drink

at reasonable prices, with porch

seating ideal for people-watching.

J

UST BEFORE DAWN, as a dim

wash of pink light begins to

glow over the Atlantic Ocean,

what looks like a stand of trees

against the horizon reveals itself

to be clouds—puffs of deep blue

hovering over the glassy, ethereal

colors of the sea at daybreak. It’s a

life-changing sight, available daily

along Florida’s State A1A.

One of the most storied strips of

pavement in the South, A1A runs along

the Atlantic from Fernandina Beach,

Florida, all the way down to Key West,

sometimes offering watery views,

sometimes not. Now and again, it heads

inland, disappearing into U.S. 1. Then

it will unexpectedly dart out across a

bridge to cross the waves and cruise

South Florida islands. A 72-mile stretch

of A1A from northern St. Johns County

to southern Flagler County has been

designated a Scenic & Historic Coastal

Byway—and it’s easy to see why.