The Final Chapter to our Adventure

Russ in Flagler Hospital with his Physical Therapist

Our story doesn't end with putting our wheels in the Atlantic Ocean.

The next day we decided to be tourists for the day and rode our bikes to the Farmers Market and then to the historic downtown. To do so you had to cross the Bridge of Lions which was under construction. All of us wanted to see different things so we all went our own way. In the afternoon I was at the Alligator Farm when I received a phone call from Russ saying that he took a fall on the bridge. He wasn't sure how serious it was but felt that something was not right. When I arrived he was looking rather pale so we had the police call an ambulance to transport him to the hospital. Long story short - he broke his right femora and got admitted to the hospital. What a way to end a trip! The good news is that he doesn't need surgery. The bad news is that he needs to stay immobile and wear a brace for 6-weeks. He just got out of the hospital today, Monday the 3rd after being there for 5 days. He has a first class ticket back to Seattle on Wednesday. (I am going coach). Mike and Dawn are now driving back in the motor home alone and we get to fly home. Believe me, we would rather be on the road with them as planned.

Russ bikes over 3000 miles without incident and now this happens just being tourists. Good thing we had our helmets on. You never know what can happen.

This ends our blog. Thanks for following our adventures. We are looking forward to being home in Selah where Russ can recuperate for his next ride. Take care and see you soon.

Final Ride into St. Augustine

Denise, Russ, Dawn and Mike at the Atlantic Ocean at last.

Russ and Mike celebrating the end of their bike ride.

Over 3000 miles from coast to coast!

April 27 - Hawthorne to St. Augustine - 80 miles. We drove back to Hawthorne from the 20 mile detoured campground to start our LAST DAY. Another motor home problem popped up in Palastka, turning lights this time. After the fix, we were back on the road for the final 40 mile push. Denise drove the motor home to St. Augustine and Anastasia State Park where we will be camping. A small problem occurred at the campground over picture ID because the reservations were in Mike's name. But Denise parked the RV in the day use area and rode out to meet us for the ride to the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. We met up on the outskirts of town and all rode in together. We arrived at the beach and hauled our bikes out to the ocean putting our front wheels in. Popped a bottle of champaine and celebrated our accomplishments. Followed up with a nice dinner in town later that night. The guys rode a over 3000 miles in 50 days! Probably more, considering all the miles rode making wrong turns and/or getting off route.

Having the motor home made our ride rather plush. We have a new found respect for all of the cyclists who go self support and carry their gear. That would be a lot harder.

But our adventure does not end hear. Read on for the final chapter....

Last few days...

Trenching for the Rain

April 25 - White Sands to O'leno State Park at High Springs - 45 miles. The day was short so I drove the motorhome and then biked the route backwards to meet with the group. We got rained on but nothing like the rain that came down in buckets by late afternoon. We were so glad that we had a short day and not caught in the downpour. Next to us at the campground was a 40+ foot fancy motor coach driven by two gals. After a shower, I walked over for a tour and we ended up drinking wine, talking and laughing. It was nice having a "girl gathering" especially in the pouring down rain. Russ managed to get another Corn Snake to skin, a fairly large one this time. He said Mike was so excited he was jumping up and down and waving his arms over his head in the roadway as he rode up to them. Mike thought the snake was dead, but it still had some life in. So Russ had to dispatch it and then skin the poor thing.

April 26 - O'Leno State Park to Hawthorne - 60 miles. I had the first shift driving so I had time for another visit with the gals. Good thing that Dawn drove last because the campground that we had booked was a real dive. (Porta pots and no showers). So she franticly tried to find another one. We found a nice one 20 miles down the road, which had a warm pool with "noodles" to float on. In Gainesville we got onto a nice 16 mile bike path to Hawthorne. Wouldn't it be nice to have a national coast to coast path without any cars. One big rails to trails express way. "Dream on", as they say.

Counting Down the Days

Lady Slipper along the roadway in Florida

One hundred year old tobacco barn along the route

Turtle Log

Russ skinning his road kill

April 22 - De Funiak Springs - Sneads (Three Rivers State Park) 94 miles. It worked out best for me to drive the whole day on the freeway and the others biked. According to Russ, nothing to exciting, just hot, humid and headwinds. They did bike around the lake which was surrounded by beautiful homes.

April 23 - Sneads - East of Tallahassee - 98 miles The plan was for us gals to switch riding at the half way point because neither of us care to do close to a century ride. The only reason why the rides are so long at this point is that camping is rather scarce. However, Russ broke a spoke at around 24 miles and luckly Dawn was able to make a detour and met us on a country road. So that Russ wouldn't miss out on the miles, we put his bike seat on my bike and he rode the rest of the route. Dawn and Mike switched onto the tandem bike to join him. From there I drove the 70+ miles to the campground, unhooked the car (a feat that is not easy) and drove back into Tallahassee to a bike shop.

What happened is that Russ heard a snap and then his back tire just jammed into his bike frame. He didn't know what was wrong except his back tire wouldn't rotate. At that point, I thought the bike was toast! The first bike shop that we called thought maybe it was a broken axle based upon our description of what happened. However, it ended up being a broken spoke and the bike shop was able to fix it right away. Because of all the delays and such long milage, the bikers didn't get into camp until close to 7 pm. (Maybe I had the better day after all).

April 24 - Tallahassee to White Springs - 81 miles. It rained on us a little last night and we woke up to a cloudy humid day. The original plan was to switch driving half way but Dawn decided not to bike. About two hours into the ride it started to rain hard so we called Dawn and asked her to pick me up at the halfway point. When we reached the half way point the rain had stopped and the sun was out. But I decided to jump into the motorhome and hitch a ride to the campground. That might have been a good choice because it is almost 4 pm and the guys still have not arrived. They arrived around 4:30 pm (another head wind day) and Russ's big find for the day was a dead corn snake. It was dead when he saw it on the road and he stopped and skinned it. He said he wants to make a head band for his cowboy hat. He has spent the past hour on the internet looking at how to preserve it. Now he has it in a baggie with lots of salt. Speaking of road finds, so far 53 bungie cords (total length attached to each other equals over 45 yards) one knife, scissors, pliers, saw, hammer, reflectors, sunglasses, cup holders, antlers, dew rag, plastic flowers and now a dead snake! Our little cubby under the motorhome is stuffed with everything he has collected.

Today is Saturday and we plan to reach St. Augustine on Tuesday so we are happily counting down the days. (170 miles and counting!) I think all of us are ready to reach the final destination.

Animals along the route

We have seen lots of deer along the route.

Unfortunately, many have been road kill. This one visited our campsite.

A friendly shop-keepers cat taking a break.

Butterfly in Texas

This is Gus. The resident turkey at the Oakley Plantation.

When you got close, he strutted his chest and thumped his feathers.

We finally saw an alligator in the wild at the state park in Alabama.

The locals call him George and he can be seen daily swimming across the lake in front of the campground.

Florida at last

Entering Florida from Alabama along the scenic highway.

The type of houses on Dauphlin Island

April 16 - Perkinston, Mississippi to Gautier (Go Che) - 62 miles. I didn't have to, but I did, take Denise's rear wheel to start my ride today. So she made the "BIG" sacrifice for her "One and Only" so he could ride. What a Woman! We had to go off route today because of accomodations. Could not find a campground on route. Stayed in Shepard State Park and we were eaten alive by the biting nat's, "NoSeeum's", because you don't see 'um until "Nowyoufeelum". My legs look like I have the measles and itch like he-double-l. On the ride into Shepard, which I missed for lack of attention, I ask directions to the park from a gentleman rebuilding his home after "Katrina". It had to be on pilings 19 feet high to be above a 17 foot storm serge as set by FEMA. He didn't like all the regulations and red tape he has gone through to rebuild his home. Few kind words for the government in his vocabulary.

April 17 - Gautier, MS to Gulf Shores, Alabama - 74 miles. Left the nat infested land of Shepard State Park for the cooler gulf breezes of "Sweet Home Alabama" I hope. Hot and muggy today. A store clerk told me it might reach 90 degrees, which did not make my day to that point. We took a bridge onto Dauphin Island and a ferry across to the gulf shores. The girls drove the motorhome around Mobile because it couldn't go across on the ferry. The guys saw their first alligator today. Both Mike and Russ saw it at the same time so it is a wash on the milkshake bet. We are staying at a nice state park in Alabama. It is a very touristy area (bet it is packed at spring break) with sand dunes, boardwalks for beach access and white sandy beaches. We actually will be here for a few days.

April 18 - Dauphin Island - 50 miles. Today Russ and I took the day to bike Dauphin Island. It is a barrier island off Mobile Bay. It was so interesting to see. Houses are built up on stilts and access is by ferry 20 miles from Golf Shores. We spend the whole day just biking the island, again all white sandy beaches. (Wish we had white sand on Washington beaches) One of the highlights was going in an "Open House" and chatting with the relator about housing and life on the island.

April 19 - 20 - Gulf Shores, Alabama to Holt, Florida 87 miles. It was planned that I would drive the motorhome but at the last minute, we had mechanical problems so Dawn and Mike stayed to get things fixed and I rode with Russ. Most of the ride was along the scenic highway which follows the Gulf of Mexico. What white sandy beaches and high rises along the shores. We stopped in Pensacola to have lunch with Dave Flaherty who worked in Yakima and is now the Parks and Recreation Director for Pensacola. It was great seeing him again. Some of the houses along the way were pretty spectacular. We pulled into Holt late and Mike came and shuttled us back to the Gulf Shores State Park because the motorhome repairs took all day. Then the next day, Mike and Dawn rode the route and Russ and I moved the motorhome. Russ finally got a chance to drive and I think he realized how stressful it is driving such a long rig. Still the 3 H's: Hot, Humid, and Headwind.

April 21 - Holt to DeFuniak 49 miles. Last night we stayed at a really nice state park. It was along a river that is a popular canoeing spot and white sandy beaches. I don't think I have seen such white sand. And for once, the "no see'ems" bugs didn't eat us to death. The ride was along highway 90 all day but it did have a good shoulder. We got into camp around noon and had the rest of the day to relax.

We weren't long in Alabama but what we did see was really nice. The state parks in both Alabama and Florida seem to be really nice. And of course everything is green because of the humid climate. That's all for now.

Mississippi Pictures

Picture of a cotton mouth snake right outside the bathroom and the guy who chopped his head off

in our campground in Wiggins, Mississippi.

This guy and his cockatoo out for a stroll in our campground in Gautier, Mississippi.

The bird travels with him and is 15 years old. He said he has had it since it hatched.

Entering Mississippi