Florida Day One

Day 28, April 29, 2011, Florida Day One

62.9 miles averaging 12.5 mph

Route from Dauphin Island, MS to Pensacola RV Park, Pensacola, FL

Best Moment – I met a woman on the ferry ride from Dauphin Island to Fort Morgan who had bicycled solo all of the way from San Diego.  She had been having a marvelous ride – it was fun to share experiences.  She had been an elementary school teacher, but has become disillusioned with the educational system in CA.  At one time she had ridden with her significant other from Boston to Seattle on a tandem.

Worst Moment – Orange Beach, Alabama is condo city and quite tacky with high rise after high rise all on the coast.  Many of the beaches in the area appear private and the traffic was a bit daunting.

I left Neita watching the Royal Wedding hoopla around 7:30 to catch the 8:00 am ferry to Fort Morgan.  It was a nearly 45 minute ride across Mobile Bay.  The pelicans and seagulls put on quite a show following the boat and crash-diving into the water.  The ferry only can take about 16 cars, and depending on tides and currents may or may not be able to accommodate motorhomes.  The tides were against Ruby, so Neita had quite a different drive than I did.

Went through some fantastic beach areas and huge condominium projects.  I preferred the beach areas where one could actually see the water.  The water in this part of the country is wonderful blue/green.  I entered the seventh state of the trip when I crossed the Florida state line. 

Pensacola RV Park is about fifteen miles off the route.  While actual route was wonderful, it was a bit more of a challenge to find where Ruby and Neita were. Since the route is a bit away from here, I’ll have to do some additional navigation to get back on course tomorrow.

It was good to get home early enough to fit in a haircut.

So it has been a month since the ride began.  It doesn’t seem possible that I’ve ridden nearly 2500 miles been in seven states all on a bicycle!  The next month is mainly in Florida – what a lot of coastline there is….