Drivers, and Gators, and Hurricanes. OH MY!!

As I left St. Augustine, I was unsure where I was going to stay. I had found a campsite in Daytona, but I was hoping to get further. My WarmShowers host from Ft. Lauderdale had also informed me of a campground in Titusville and another host in Vero Beach. I ended up staying in Daytona and met a nice couple at the campground. Bev and Harry met me in the office and offered me free diet pepsi. I took my stuff to my site and then headed over to theirs and we talked for quite a while. I found that they had encountered tourers a number of years ago at their home in PA and I reminded them of that time. We chatted for quite a while, then I headed back to set stuff up and see what my next week's plans were going to be to get to Miami Beach in time to meet my mom.

I found a campground in Melbourne that I could not make reservations at, so I got up early and headed out. It was an enjoyable ride along the coast, except for the construction in Titusville. The rangers at the campground were very friendly and interested in what I was doing. They all had my name memorized shortly after I showed up. A couple of them were cyclists and one told me a story of some roadies who decided to block traffic when they road and ended up doing it to the wrong motorcyclists. End result: a bunch of bloodied cyclists laying on the street from four bikers. Perhaps they learned.

I couldn't find a campground around Stuart to West Palm Beach, so I booked a motel room online. It ended up being a long day at over 100 miles and winds quite strong blowing across my direction of travel. Those big flags that usually drape except in the strongest of winds were standing pretty much straight out. Made it in just before dark to Riviera Beach and checked in. I saw a suspicious car in the parking lot but since I had just arrived I decided to wait to do anything. I went and got something to eat, then came back and hung out. A little later I decided to look out the window and see if the car and riders were still there. They were...along with three police cars, one car member under arrest, and a full car and body search on all riders. Guess my gut told me right.

The following day I headed to Ft. Lauderdale to my Warmshowers host, Dennis', house. Warmshowers is a website for touring cyclists where other cyclists open up their house, yard, whatever they have, to other tourers and give them places to stay and whatever else they feel like offering. On the way there the winds were so strong I once got picked up and moved four feet to the side of where I was riding and set back down. That is quite and experience, flying on a loaded touring bike.

Dennis gave me a bed, dinner, breakfast, and some good stories from the road. It turns out his sister lives just up the road from my family in Nebraska and that he stayed with a couple in Wyoming I knew through the church I attended in Douglas. In the morning he took me to breakfast at a local restaurant and then we hung out till around noon sharing stories. I decided I should head on to Miami, even though the winds were quite strong from tropical storm Ida moving in. I ended up only having 25 miles to go to the condo, so I made it there quite rapidly, even having to dodge all the traffic and walk my bike in places due to wind.

While in Miami, tropical storm Ida became a hurricane and the winds were quite strong for the first two days my mom and her friend were here. Thankfully, the storm stayed west and we only saw 25-50 mph winds.

On monday we decided to head down to the keys and see what they were like. We drove all the way down to Duck Key and then turned around and came back. During the trip we stopped at a tshirt shop and got some good shirts. We also stopped and took some pics. It was amazing how calm it was on the keys with the storm so close, but if you didn't know from the news, you wouldn't have known a storm was in the area. It was a fairly relaxing day. The next day I took my mom up the coast on A1A to see the mansions and castles near Palm Beach. The money in the area is crazy! Tens of thousands of square foot houses for private use only. When the rich men of the 18 and 1900's became rich, they often built public museums into their houses to spread their wealth for all. The Flagler Museum in Palm Beach is one such place. Now we don't do that.

My mom and her friend left on Wednesday and I took the day to relax and work on some projects. On Thursday I took a trip to the Everglades through our condo. A bus picked me up, then took a group out to the park. We were taken on an airboat ride, then given a demonstration with gators and turtles. It was pretty good while we were out there, but the tour company was horrible. I was told I would be picked up around 9-915. They showed up at 930. We then continued to pick people up for the next hour plus. Occassionally people would be asked to get off and we wouldn't see them again. We then headed to the port and dropped some people off, then took on some more. We finally arrived at the everglades at 1140. After the show we were all ready to head back but our driver didn't arrive for another 20 min or so. We then headed back and started dropping people off at their hotels in south beach. I was a little too far north so the bus driver offered me a free city tour with boat trip. I was tempted, but I was fighting a migraine, had to go to the bathroom, and had a few other things to do, so I declined. He then had me stand on the street for 15-20 min waiting for someone to show up in their own car and take me back to my place. Overall, though, it was a good time in the glades.

I am now working on planning my ride to Dallas and tuning up my bike. I am planning on leaving Sunday. I may be having Thanksgiving in Mobile with a friend from Wyoming, so hopefully that works out.