We are within 3-4 days from St. Augustine, FL as we take a day of rest to enjoy Thanksgiving with Warm Shower Hosts, Diane and Maria in Monticello. We called about spending last night with them and they invited us to stay for Thanksgiving dinner. On their farm they have raised Tennessee Walking Horses and more recently Boer Goats (meat goats). Now they have chickens (40-50) and a rescue horse, as well as numerous dogs and cats. There is a large pond which has alligators in it so we were warned to keep our distance from the waters edge. Interesting place.
The last few days have been nice riding except for foggy mornings which have slowed us down a bit. The live oak trees with the Spanish moss are just beautiful in this area. It's hard to explain how magnificent the trees are if you have never seen one of the large ones. As many as we have seen, every now and then we will see one that dwarfs the others.
Our last few days of biking we have put in good miles, going between 72 and 77 miles per day. The roads have been fairly flat and smooth, with either good shoulders or little traffic. Apparently the holiday traffic stayed on the interstates.
As we are close to the end of our trip, we have bittersweet thoughts. In one way we are definitely ready for the trip to be over, but on the other hand, we know the incredible experiences we have had along the way will be missed. Of course we also enjoy the warm weather (80 day, 60 night) here as we are biking in shorts and tee shirts while we see snow and cold temperatures back home.
We didn't add any photos in the last blog so here are a few from past days. Refer back to the last blog. Seems like Ann should take more photos so Bill will be recorded more.
Dauphin Island ferry crossing to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Chilly morning. Notice the white sand behind us.
From the ferry we saw natural gas platforms in Mobile Bay. No sign of the oil spill in the water or on the beach.
Nice clean, warm beaches in the Gulf Shores area. We can understand why folks go south for the winter!
Bridge crossing the waterway between Alabama and Florida. Even though we felt like Florida was our final destination, we have to bicycle 500 miles across the panhandle to St. Augustine. At this writing we are about half way through this state.
Here we are entering our final state. Many more miles to go but nice weather to help us out.
One of our favorite lunch stops, in DeFuniak Springs, FL, on a lake in the center of town.
A 12 mile Rails-to-Trails bike path in Tallahassee, our favorite way to go. Wish there were more of these.
Warm Showers farm where we spent Thanksgiving Day. We did not eat these gals, but gathered their eggs for breakfast.
Enjoy the weather and the beach, for once you are back home, you will want to bike your way back, and you know how that feels!. We in the South West (Imperial County, Ca) had record highs of 33 for Thanksgiving. We are freezing, you can say. Although you may also say we don't know what cold is until we see WA. Well I can tell you that I like it a little warmer than freezing. I wouldn't mind in the 70's instead in the 50's as highs. Although we can take 110 any summer and still be out jogging by 11a.m. I know that you have experienced 110, so I know you folks understand what I am talking about.
ReplyDeleteWell, God Bless and Keep on biking. I encourage you folks to write a book of your travels. They seem and sound Fantastic!. I hope this brings you folks more united towards each other. Capt.Celis@yahoo.com