Wow, the heat was already oppressive at 6 AM. I was looking forward
to going to the WaffleHouse for breakfast as I seldom get to one and I
like their food. I get 2 scrambled eggs with hashbrowns scattered
covered and smothered and raisin toast with apple butter. I know its
high cholesterol but I only splurge on occasion.
The ride today is ambitious; I plan on getting to Miami from an hour
west of Tallahassee (600+ miles). There were only a few scavenger
hunt items to look for an its mostly 70 mph interstate.
So, I got on I10 east. I spied a whitetailed deer along the roadside
as the sun was coming up. The deer here are MUCH smaller than those
I'd seen earlier on the trip (but I still don't want to run into one).
I also spied dead armadillos and raccoons. Hmmm, perhaps wildlife in
FL isn't as smart as other places.
I passed by a couple of KOAs because it was too early to stop and I
needed to build momentum for the day. The GPS started acting funny
before Tallahassee. It would lock and I couldn't get it to respond in
any fashion. Its almost like its responding to a touch on the screen
and that touch is continuous! I ended up just shutting it off for
about 20 minutes and then cleaned the screen with water at the next
gas stop. That made it work the remainder of the day.
I made the turn onto I-75 south at Tallahassee and put in two
scavenger hunt sites; Santa Fe and Cadillac, FL (both from Johnny
Cash's "I've Been Everywhere" song). I found where they were SUPPOSED
to be but there was no town in either spot. I took a photo of the
Santa Fe Baptist church and I'll see if it will count but I couln't
find anything for Cadillac, FL.
I passed some nice horse farms on this side excursion. It was just a
little north of Gainseville and I used to live just south of here so
I'm familiar with the area.
There really was little to see or stop for since I used to live here.
I rode south to Wildwood before stopping again for lunch. I tried
calling Ruth but she was busy with a customer at JCP so I spoke with
my Dad for a few moments.
The weather showed some clouds buildling and one of the things I
remember from living in FL is the every afternoon thunderstorms in hot
weather. I geared up and started south on the turnpike. Traffic was
acceptable and I got 45 miles before it started raining. It only
rained sporadically but when it did rain, it came down hard. The
'stich may be hot but it also protects me from those rain pellets!
I also spied another of my favorite birds while riding south on the
turnpike; a Scissor-tailed Kite. There are hawk-like birds with a
distinctive tail so they're obvious even at 60 mph.
The only other stop I wanted to make for the day was at OpaLocka near
Miami. This is another Everywhere town and I found it easily. I took
a photo at the post office and then made the 1/2 hour drive to Florida
City, the last town in FL before the keys. I'm set for a shot down
there in the morning!!
At a serice area on the turnpike I spoke with a FL state patrolman
about traffic out of Key West on a Sunday and he said that after 2 PM
its slow going. The manager at the Super 8 told me its 122 miles to
Key West from the motel so my plan is to be on the road at 5 AM so I
can get there in 3 hours and then start back after some quick looking
around. I've been to Key West with Ruth a few years ago so I won't do
much touristy stuff. I do want to get started north and heading back
home.....
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Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach
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