First day of Spring celebrated with photos at Smyrna Dunes Park

NSBNEWS.net photos and video by Jeanette DiCara. The first day of Spring Saturday is a picture-perfect day at Smyrna Dunes Park in New Smyrna Beach.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- It felt warm enough to go to the beach on the first day of spring and what a welcome sight it was when one of my teen daughters and I went to Smyrna Dunes Park on the Northern tip of the beachside peninsula. It cost $5 a carload, and I think it was well worth it because this lovely site has fascinating people, boats, and animals. There were few people on the sand between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, but there were plenty of boats passing Florida's tallest lighthouse located in nearby Ponce Inlet to the north.

Catching a low tide is fun at this park because you may see interesting creatures in the shallow tide pools. We saw a shrimp, several birds, and sailboats.

Allen Jackson and Kelly Field both taking a few months break from their construction business in Wilmington, Vt.,  paused to watch a white bird found around the lagoon and inlet.

Our attention was captured by a large kite large enough to lift a man. After inquiring we found Chris Lucas, 22, of Deltona about to launch his kiteboard for the very first time.

Lucas is surrounded by his family, including his sister, Kate Lucas-Flickinger, also 22. He gets some last minute advice from friend Tim McCarthy. Because this is his first time trying the kiteboard, he just wants to get the feel for maneuvering it, and his friends and family will try to hold him down if he gets off the ground.

There is no escaping the beauty of this natural habitat, which is one of the many jewels of life here in Southeast Volusia where people and animals alike share in the wondrous environment that perhaps we take for granted sometimes.