We woke up around 7 this morning feeling very rested. Betty made us some English muffins with butter and jam and some nice hot tea. While enjoying our breakfast, we talked with Betty and Buck for a while before we got all packed. It was raining when we first got up this morning, and we heard that poor Lukie couldn't go outside like he wanted because of the rain. Burt said that Lukie kept running to different doors thinking it might not be raining out a different door, and then coming right back in once he saw he would get wet. Betty was hoping that we would stay the day since it was supposed to rain, but we haven't made too many miles in the last week, and are anxious to keep riding. It was so nice of her to be so concerned for us and to be willing to have us stay if we wanted to. Luckily, it had stopped raining by the time we got on the road at a little before 9 (although we didn't know for sure how long the rain would hold out). Buck had already left to go to the gym by that point. Boy do I hope that we are getting around as good as they are when we get to be 84. But, with the exercise they do, it has been keeping them up and moving, so that's all it takes I guess. It was a pretty cloudy morning, but not that chilly. I ended up having to take my extra layer of coats off after about 7 miles. The sun eventually tried to peak out, which was much appreciated. There was lots of traffic on this road, but there was a little bit of a shoulder/ bike lane which helped. We thought about riding on the road down by the water, but we thought that the headwind might be even stronger with no trees or buildings to block it, so we just kept on our path down hwy 98. There were a few sections where there was nothing but trees and the wind in our face. As the road turned more towards the gulf, the wind intensified and slowed us down a little more. During the first part of the morning, we were moving along pretty good, now that the wind was stronger, we were going about 8 mph now, which felt much slower than the 14-17 mph we were doing earlier. After what seemed like forever, we made it to Panama City Beach. We stopped for a quick break at a gas station and then continued on until we found a grocery store, which turned out to be not that far. Just as we were about to pull into the store, it started raining. Winn Dixie is my new favorite grocery store. I haven't had a favorite since Safeway, which we haven't seen since California. We had one of our favorite meals, "Loic subs," for lunch since Winn Dixie has good French bread. Finally we found a place with good French bread again! It has been so long since we've had "Loic subs" and it sure was tasty. To go with that I ended up buying a jug of 'Tropicana Farmstand-Strawberry Banana juice.' It wasn't too sweet like I thought it might be, instead it was very refreshing since it's chocked full of other veggie and fruit juices, too. A new favorite juice! When I was in line to check out, a funny thing happened. I was talking to the cashier and she asked where we were riding from. I told her our story and she said "wait, you aren't the ones I saw on the news the other day, are you!?" After a few more questions, it was confirmed, that it was us! Blitz at the Florabama mentioned that someone said there was a little blurb on one of the news channels, but he didn't know which one. Guess he was right. The cashier said that she was pretty sure it was on channel 12 news (Montgomery), or possibly channel 4. Either way, that is just so neat that someone had seen the bit on the news and actually remembered it. What a cool thing! After making our subs and getting all full, we headed back out on the road. The rain hadn't stopped since we pulled in and we knew it was most likely not going to stop anytime soon. At one point the little bit of shoulder on hwy 98 turned to grooved pavement as there was construction going on. We decided to get off this road and head towards the beach. We found ourselves on another road that had no shoulder, but a little less traffic and more importantly no grooved pavement. For a while we rode along the sidewalk, getting a little frustrated, as it would just end in random places and we would be stuck riding on the grass. When we made our turn onto hwy 98A we passed by the Ripley's Believe It Or Not building, which had to be the neatest one that I've seen of them. The main building was "upside down." As we continued on down the sidewalk, the rain would come and go, pouring at some moments and only "misting" at others. We crossed the bridge into Panama City and had no problem whatsoever with traffic. There was a sidewalk, that Joey ended up taking, and a HUGE shoulder that was as wide as 2 lanes of traffic on the other side of the wall, which I took (I was worried the sidewalk would be really narrow like the bridges yesterday). After riding along the sidewalk for most of the way along 98, we eventually had a chance to turn off and ride down 98 business, which sounded like a much better plan. Sure enough it was. The traffic was going much slower and there was less of it in general. We zig zagged through a little downtown area and past some amazing houses overlooking the water. After that, we were in downtown Panama City. After stopping at Subway for a quick break, we dreaded going back outside. Since we had stopped, it really started raining hard. We waited inside, but knew it probably was going to continue like this for a while, so we just went for it anyway. Not like it mattered, because we were already soaked. From then on, we rode on the sidewalk, which wasn't very fun, but was still the safest place for us. The rain eventually tapered off a bit. As we were crossing a rather wide driveway for a gas station, some guy in a red truck wasn't paying attention and came flying in, almost hitting me. Luckily I had time to hit my breaks and he did too when he eventually saw me, but it was still a little frustrating that people don't look where they are going and are always in such a hurry. At one point we got far enough from the main "city" area that the road turned into a single lane road in each direction and the sidewalk ended. We rode for a few miles before coming into the town of Parker and then eventually getting to the outskirts of the town of Calloway. There was a church in sight with a couple overhangs, and a couple cars outside, so we decided that it would be a good place to check to see if we could camp. The pastor was there and he said that a whole bunch of guys would be there in about 20 minutes for a meeting and he would ask the group just to make sure they were all ok with it too. So, while we waited, we got to enjoy our sub sandwiches for dinner inside where it was warm and dry. It's also helpful too that we were near a sink where we could wash our hands. The best part about making our own subs is that there is no skimping on the"stuffings",in fact, they are usually so overloaded that they are just a total mess to eat, but that's the way we like it. We talked to a few people as they trickled in from the meeting. One lady had the cutest little tiny dog ever. It was a 'teacup poodle' with black fur who had just had a bath yesterday. That little doggie had so much energy, but was yet pretty cuddly and soft (and smelled good too) when you held her. I couldn't believe how small she was (not as small as Angel in Texas), but yet she was full grown- she is definitely travel size. I got to relax on a couch while we were waiting for the meeting to be over. Sure enough, everyone else thought it would be fine if we set up under one of the many overhangs they had on the property. It was so nice to relax indoors for a little while with the light on before going out in our dark tent. It is always so perfect when we have someplace dry to put our bikes and our tent so that everything is dry, or close to it, in the morning when it comes to packing up. After we got the tent set up, Joey went on a little walk to kill some time. It started to rain again, so he returned within about 10 minutes. It was nice to get changed into dry clothes, since those wet ones were making me a little chilled. Although it rained for half of the day, it wasn't anything compared to the rain we had in Alaska. At least it was relatively warm here and there were lots of places to go inside and get out of the rain if we decided we needed a break. For the rest of the evening, I just relaxed in my sleeping bag and typed for a while. We had such a great time with Buck and Betty while we were there and knew we would have enjoyed our time there had we stayed the day today. Even still, it was nice to get some miles in and be a little closer to Orlando. We are both pretty excited about getting there, after all, we've been talking about Orlando since we left Sand Diego back in November. I cannot believe how the time has just flown by. Looking back on California, it doesn't seem like it's that long ago, until I start thinking about everything we've seen, all the places and faces along the way and it does make it seem like it is actually a while ago now. Having our "Loic subs" today made us think about when we were riding with Loic and how much fun we had. Hopefully his trip is going well as he continues his trip south. Only a few days until we see Joey's Aunt and Uncle and only a couple weeks now until wee see Joey's family when they come down on vacation! It's going to be a lot of fun. We've all been looking forward to it for quite a while and it's almost here! Our miles totaled 65.10 today.
0 Comments
We woke up early, around 6am, so that we would be able to get an early start this morning to make up for the lack of miles we've done in the last few days. Our first stop before packing up was the continental breakfast down in the lobby. Cereal, fruit, hot chocolate, bagels, yum! Once we were packed, we were on the road by a little after 8. Where did the beautiful sunshine go? It was a cloudy day, with what else than a headwind? There was a long stretch through park along island where there were no trees or buildings to block wind; that ended up being a very long section. The sun tried to come out a couple times, but didn't really stay. When we finally reached our turn where we would take the bridge off the island, we found out that the bridge in Navarre beach was under construction. We ended up taking the sidewalk since there was 1 way traffic with not much room for us to get out of the way. It was VERY narrow, so much so that the bags rubbed a little. Since my bags are a little wider than Joey's in the back, I wasn't able to easily ride through since the margin between the barriers and bags was so small. I ended up pushing walking through. I took the road for the next section, which turned out to be even more narrow than the first section. It was way longer than the previous section and would really be a waste of time to walk the whole thing. I somehow beat joey to the top of the bridge and down the other side since he couldn't go very fast due to having to keep the bike straight and pay attention to the road. The vehicles were very respectful to me and seemed to understand why I was out in the road. When Joey caught up, he looked at one of his panniers and there was a small hole in the top flap from it rubbing against the barrier a few times. What a pain. There was lots of traffic on this road compared to the island road which had almost none. We found a McDonald's to fill up on water before continuing on. We passed through an Air Force Base and decided to eat lunch in the town of Fort Walton in the park that we stumbled on. We ate our left over pizza and wings from last night and the apples and oranges from breakfast. As we were riding through town, I made a quick stop at the visitor center to get a map of FL for my map case on my handlebar bag. I don't now why, but I really like having one to follow along on; see what's coming, see where we've been. It really is amazing for me to think about because when we started, everything was just a dot on a map. The further we pedal, the more those dots change from just dots, to memories. We never know what that next dot will bring, but we are always excited to get to the next place. We crossed over lots of bridges today going from island to mainland, to island. Shortly before arriving in Destin, we crossed over onto Okaloosa Island. We crossed into Destin on a bridge over Choctawhatchee Bay's inlet to the Gulf. There were so many condos, we just couldn't believe it. As we continued on through town in search of the post office to pick up the tire that Uncle Ronnie had mailed to us, we realized that Joe's rear panniers were awfully wiggly. Upon further investigation, we noticed that the steel hole that was part of the bike frame that was used to hold the rack on, had completely snapped off. At first we were really worried that the bike was just done and we might have to seek out a trailer for the remainder of the ride- which is the last thing we wanted to do. Luckily, there was another set of holes, so Joe was optimistic that he would be able to fix the problem. We stopped and asked for directions to the post office. Once we found it we were happy to see that the tire was there waiting for us. Before changing the tire, Joey re-attached the rear rack, and got it all ready to go. Thank goodness there were 2 sets of holes for the rack, because otherwise it would have been a MAJOR problem. While Joey was working on putting on his new back tire, we were greeted by a nice older man named Buck. He asked if he could be in any assistance to us, since he himself was a biker, too. Since Joey was able to fix the rack, we didn't really need anything- unless someone knew how to weld really well that could fix the rack attachment. We talked to him for a few minutes and then he was off. Not 3 seconds after we said goodbye, he turned around and asked if we wanted to stop for the day here in Destin and stay at his house, we couldn't believe it! So, we followed him and his wife Betty back to their house. They went slow for us and waited at turns so we wouldn't get lost. It was only about 2 miles away, but it was still much easier to follow them than try to have him give us directions and get ourselves lost. It was just so nice of them. After we got to the house, we got the bikes put in the garage, got a grand tour of their house with explanations of the family members in the photos around the house, and an introduction to their cute kitty named Luke (or Lukie). Betty made some tea and we enjoyed that with some cookies before going out on an adventure with Buck. He took us on a tour around town in their car, and we ended up seeing a lot more of Destin than we would have just by passing through. He took us to the harbor and we walked down the harbor walk. It was pretty funny to watch pelicans trying to steal a fish off the table from the fisherman who was cutting it up. After that, we headed over to a restaurant/ bar that Buck and Betty frequently visit. He had a cup of coffee and we both had a cup of hot chocolate. It was pretty fun talking with the people there, all of whom knew Buck. There was even a picture of Buck from his younger days when he was a captain on one of the shelves behind the bar. After our little visit there, we drove over closer to the water to get a glimpse of the sunset before heading back to the house. We had a little time to relax before we went out for a real treat-Golden Corral!! It was great! We were trying to remember the last time we went to one, and we knew it has been a really long time. We had a great time! The four of us got back to the house just in time to watch their favorite show, the Antique Road Show. I took a shower before heading off to bed. We were so happy to be inside, especially since it was raining outside. We rode 45.77 miles and were more than happy to stop a little earlier and go to Buck and Betty's when the offer was made. It was a lot of fun hearing about all of the things that Buck and Betty had done in their life and really kind of amazing- they really have done such a variety of things and visited quite a lot of places. I hope that we will be able to share stories like that someday. A wonderful day yet again.
Well, Superbowl Sunday is here. We have been contemplating what we are going to do so that we will be able to watch the game. It would be nice to still be at the Condo and be able to watch it at Flora-Bama, but we just felt like we were overstaying our welcome. They already gave us so much and we didn't want to take advantage of that. So, on to plan B. We thought about just finding some other bar to watch it at, but then we would be worrying about our bikes. Then there was the thought to take a hotel for the game. When we woke up, we weren't sure what we were going to do, and still weren't for a good portion of the morning. After we got packed up, we rode down the street and around the corner to the store to get cereal and milk. We had our breakfast on the bench outside of "Food World" and were wishing that it would warm up a little quicker this morning. After riding down the road and over a bridge, we were in Pensacola. We even kind of had a tail wind, too. Since we had gotten a message on Facebook a couple of days ago from Tammy (one of the lady's we met in Hamburg, AR) that she was in Pensacola for a wedding, we tried to contact her and let her know we were here now too. We didn't have any luck for a while, but found out later that it was because she was at church with the family this morning. After our short stop in Pensacola, we rode over the long 3 mile bridge into Gulf Breeze. We decided from there to take the "Scenic Route" along Santa Rosa Island. We took a short bridge, which was actually a toll bridge for cars, but free for bikes since the bike path went right around the toll booths. Sometimes it really does pay to ride a bicycle. After getting off the bridge, we were in Pensacola Beach. We really liked the area and it seemed like a nice place to walk around, too. Joey liked the area too and suggested that we just go for it and get a hotel. We both knew that we would enjoy the Superbowl a lot more if we had a place to relax and watch it. Neither of us are big bar people and if we did that, we would be worried about our bikes the whole time anyways (and plus it's not as much fun if you don't know anyone there). I think it was best. We were really going to get our money's worth because they let us check into the hotel around 11!! We got to our room, got settled, and figured out what we wanted to do for dinner. It was the Superbowl- pizza was a must. I had a coupon for free pizza rollers from Pizza Hut, so we looked into that. We ended up ordering one of their Big Box meals that has 2 medium pizzas, bread sticks, and another side (which we chose wings). We were SO excited for pizza and wings and were pretty happy that we decided to go with what we did because in comparison to buying just one large pizza for 20 bucks, we got so much more for less than 5 bucks more. Since it was so early we had plenty of time before the game started and before our pizza would be delivered. We went on a walk along the beach and through the boardwalk area and then by the gigantic Ferris wheel that was across the street. For a second we thought maybe we would splurge and go for a ride on it, but then we saw how much it was- 14 bucks a person!!! YIKES!! Guess we're not doing that ride! When we got back to the room we sipped on the hot cocoa that we got from the lobby of the hotel and watched the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet. That was SO cute, with the puppies running around and the kitty halftime show!! I was getting really excited for the game just simply because of the fact that we were just standing outside of the Superdome a little over a week ago. Neither of us really cared who won, but decided to pick a team anyway. I picked the Ravens and Joey picked the 49ers (because we had seen their stadium when we were in San Francisco). It was weird how the head coaches ended up being brothers, I didn't know that could happen. Our pizza, wings and bread sticks, free pizza rollers, arrived right on time and we couldn't be more excited. They forgot to put the mushrooms on one of the pizza's, but we still had a ton of food, so we were happy. We had only just snacked on some pretzel thins this afternoon and didn't have lunch, so we were starving. It proved to be an interesting Superbowl that's for sure. With the power outage, and the 49ers coming back a little later on in the game, but to still lose to the Ravens 31 to 34. I am still glad that we took a hotel, it was a very relaxing evening. We only rode 14.68 miles today.
Emmy is behind in writing her blogs, so there is a break between this day and the previous post. They had such an incredible day on the 30th and she was so excited about it that she wrote the blog for that day instead of one for an earlier day. She is still working on getting caught up and I will post them as I get them.---Em's gram
We were very happy to be inside out of the storm last night, and have a great night's sleep in a bed (which was VERY much needed since we couldn't sleep the night before last because of finding out about Puppy passing away). For some reason Joe was feeling a little bit under the weather this morning, with a headache and a little bit of a stomach ache. I was really worried that he had caught the flu or something since he felt warm, but after a couple hours of relaxing in bed, things turned around. By the time it got to be 9:30/ 10:00 am, he was feeling back to normal and ready for the day. Weird how it was such a short thing, but it might have just been from the headache- nothing a couple aspirin won't fix. The hotel had a continental breakfast, so we had some cereal and bagels with cream cheese along with some juice. It was such a great way to start the morning. We took our time getting ready this morning and getting on the road because we knew that the really stormy weather was on its way and we wanted to enjoy the hotel for as long as we could. We were on the road a little after 10:30. As we headed down the road along the Gulf Shore, we battled the wind. The wind wasn't coming from one direction like it usually is; it was coming from ALL directions. Sometimes we would get a nice push from behind to get us moving just to be knocked down a minute later by a gust from the front. The side winds were strong enough to blow me into the road a little, so luckily it was a double lane road and there wasn't very much traffic. One of the worst parts about the wind is that when we rode by open sandy spaces, we would literally get "sand blasted," which didn't feel too good on the skin, that's for sure. About 5 miles into our ride, we met a guy named Tom who was out on a day ride. He ended up riding with us for quite a few miles. It's always nice when we have someone else to talk to, even if it is just for a short ride. We had fun hearing about the restaurant he owns in D.C. and sharing our stories too. About 12 miles into the ride, he said, "see where the road changes color and the shoulder gets a little smaller?... That's Florida!" I was so surprised, I knew we were pretty close to Florida, but I didn't realize that we were THAT close! Tom was nice enough to take a picture for us at a Florida sign, not the official one, but we weren't sure if there was an official one here. Either way, it was a great sign and so nice that he was there to help with the picture. Not 20 seconds after we took the picture, there were a couple rain drops, then all of a sudden, it just started to POUR! We ran for the nearest covering, which happened to be the overhang of the Flora-Bama bar. When we passed by there, Tom was telling us how popular of a place it was and that it was really neat to go inside. As we were running for cover, one of my panniers popped off and got stuck in the wheel, making it so my bike wouldn't move. As if I wasn't already getting wet, now I was soaked! The guys came to help me and saved the day. As we were standing there, Tom said that we should go inside and check it out, because it really was a cool place. So, that is what we did. As we were walking around, a couple people talked to us and asked us where we were riding to, most likely thinking somewhere local. Like most of the people that we tell our little story to, they were amazed and surprised. That is one thing that never gets old- seeing people's reaction to our trip. Sometimes I even have a hard time believing that we did it too, and I'm the one that rode all that way. It sure is overwhelming when I think about it as a whole. Among the people that we had met while walking around, was a guy named "Blitz," he seemed to think that what we were doing was so neat and especially liked that we were doing this section for the Free Wheelchair Mission. He introduced himself as one of the managers there and insisted on giving us a tour of the place. What an amazing place it was- 20,000 square feet, 3 stories tall, right on the Gulf beaches, 12 bars (21 in the summer), tons of events, live music 365 days a year, 5,000-7,500 visitors daily during their peak time of year, just an incredible place- unlike any other bar we've ever seen! After talking with us for a bit longer, he invited us to their event today- a Snowbirds' potluck dinner they have every Wednesday from the beginning of January to the beginning of March (or later if the winter up north is really bad), to "have lunch on us." What an offer! With the weather being so bad, we couldn't have asked for a better place to take cover. It still amazes me that it started raining when it did- it was like we were destined to come here. We had a chance to put our bikes under the building (most of the buildings out here are up on stilts) so they would be out of the weather and we wouldn't have to worry about them, which was very helpful. Before going to the dinner, which would start in a little less than an hour at that point, Blitz took us downstairs to the gift shop to get a T-Shirt and a Hat for each of us to take home with us. What a cool thing!! We just couldn't believe it. After getting to see a little more of the building and having a sample of their famous " Bushwacker" drink, we headed over to the pot luck that was held under the tent (the same tent that they have "worship on the water" services that draw 1,000 people or more during the summer!!). The group of Snowbirds included people from all over from all over the northern states. Blitz asked if it would be ok if he introduced us to the group, which was, of course, fine by us. It was so neat to have 230 or so people clapping for "the kids that have ridden 12,000 miles around the country on their bicycles." That really made us feel like we were doing something special, that's for sure. We had a chance to say a few words and mention that we were doing the last leg of the ride for the Free Wheelchair Mission. It was a perfect unexpected opportunity to start raising awareness for this great cause, and to kick off our ride for mobility. We had a number of people come up to us and ask us questions about the trip, while at the same time had the opportunity to pass out some of the pamphlets that were sent to us from the FWM. It was absolutely incredible. Not only did we get to meet a lot of great people, and even a few people from near home (like Binghamton and Silver Creek, NY), but we got to enjoy some wonderful food. One thing is for sure, these Snowbirds sure know how to cook. All the sides and dessert you could ever want and a great pork chop as the main course (that was provided by Flora-Bama). Its just such a cool thing that they have these pot luck lunches every week for the Snowbirds, it would be something to really look forward to every week for the Snowbirds. Since the rain was supposed to continue until it was dark at least, Blitz asked if we were going to stay here for the night and, if so, needed a place to stay. We didn't figure we would make it too far down the road and planned on finding an overhang to set our tent up under. But, since Blitz is so amazing, he worked his magic and we got something SO Much better than our tent. Right next to the Flora-Bama, is a huge condo building where one of the owners has a condo. Blitz checked to see if it would be alright if we stayed there for the night if it was unoccupied. He got the ok and when they checked, the condo was open!! Never in a million years did we think we would get to stay in a condo right on the Gulf Coast! As if the day hadn't been amazing already! After lunch, we had a chance to say a couple words about our trip and hand out a few more of our FWM pamphlets to those who were interested. A couple of the Snowbirds offered for us to stay with them if we needed a place to stay for the night, but were happy to find out that Blitz had already set us up with a place to stay already. It really is so amazing to have so many people open up to us and be willing to help. There are just so many wonderful people in this world. As the potluck was winding down, Blitz took us over to the condo with our bikes and showed us around it. What an amazing condo!!! It was like a 5 star hotel, but better because it was a condo. Neither of us could believe everything that has happened today and especially that we get to stay in someplace like this! Once we got cleaned up and changed into our new Flora-Bama t-shirts, we headed back over. We had a chance to enjoy some of the live music that is held there daily as well as have a "Bushwacker" with Blitz once he was off of work. As we were talking with him we also got a chance to meet the marketing and public relations director, Candice, and got to talk to her for a while about our trip. Blitz had mentioned earlier that he checked to see if it would be ok to put the link to our website and a little blurb about our trip and the FWM on the Flora-Bama website (which gets over a million hits every year!!), and Candice was the one that was going to do that. It would be so great to get some publicity for our trip and the FWM, this could be a very big help in trying to reach our goal of raising $2,000 for the FWM! After Blitz headed home for the day, Joey and I stayed to relax and listen to the music. The singers took requests and since they had met us earlier, said "Any requests Buffalo, NY!?" They played "Knee Deep" by the Zack Brown Band and threw a line in there about "riding a bicycle all the way from Buffalo." They were really good and pretty funny, too. To top off the day, Blitz had set it up that we could have dinner on the house, too. Joey ordered McClellan Oysters which were topped with diced onions, bacon and cheese! I had a fish Poboy sandwich. Everything was delicious. When we headed back over to the condo, it was really windy and cold (it was in the 70s earlier this morning and by the afternoon had dropped to in the 50s, it was supposed to be down in the 30s tonight, what a switch!). We looked out over the water and the huge waves for quite a while- what a view! Later on this evening, Joey's sisters Lizzy and Christina, and our friend Kelly, were posting pictures of our beloved Nala, so we all had a little time to reminisce and mourn her passing a bit. Poor Puppy, she was such a good dog. We just can't believe how wonderful of a day we had- it really helped lift our spirits and get us excited about our trip again. So many memories to last lifetime have been made on this trip, and it's days like this where such unexpected things happen, that make the trip so special. Thanks Blitz and the Flora-Bama, for such a great day! We only made it 12.28 miles today, but with 3 weeks to get to Orlando and only about a weeks worth of riding to do, we have more than enough time to enjoy days like this. |
|