It always gets better

October 19th - Hampton Springs, FL
Rocky's Campground
Mileage: 152 km
Total mileage: 5,781 km

Bundled up this morning we continued east bound on Hwy 98. Along the coast we rode through Carrabellla and Lanark Village. Beautiful seaside homes and homes nestled into the stately trees as we rode. Clear skies, the cold front having pushed out the moist air.

Inland on Hwy 319 to Sopchoppy and then back to Hwy 98 through Medart and Newport. It was here that Princess got a little testy. Having put in quite a few miles already she was worried about making it another 41 miles to Perry before dark. There is nothing between the two centres. (After just having another flat tire on Kim's bike, the kind that he fixes and then as he's putting air in you can hear leaking again, so he takes off and fixes again. Not to mention that we're back into swamp area with gators, snakes and now bear signs to boot. I'm really not prepared to have to camp in the middle of nowhere because it gets dark before we can make it to civilization!! Testy would be the polite terminology!). I told her to relax and then cycled well ahead of her to remove myself from the aura of anger.

East bound, we cycled on a quiet Hwy through heavy forest that at times resembled a jungle. At points the huge Live Oaks would stretch their branches across the Hwy so we could cycle through the tunnel they provided us. Meanwhile, Deby took up the rear watching for bear and alligators.

We ended our day after 95 miles, 152 kms. We cycled into a gorgeous campground 5 miles west of Perry. We arrived before dark (but just :) ) Princess had really stepped up to the plate. What a woman. (What a motivator fear is). We had pizza at a nearby gas station and the lady attendant gave us an enormous cantaloupe for the heck of it. Things always get better.