Rebel Alpaca at the Pioneer Museum
After waking up a few hours later than planned, we headed off with Cousin James to the Pioneer Florida Museum for its annual Pioneer Florida Days Festival. The highlight was the mass garage sale in a barn, where there were all sorts of interesting old tools, housewares, and knick knacks. Were we traveling by car, there would have been a big box of miscellany in the back seat, but since space was limited in the sidecases, we had to make do with a belt and a Starfox Watch. The festival also included some civil war reenactments, food and craft booths, and tents selling bizarre civil war-related merchandise. Winning the prize for strangest item at the festival was the Robert E. Lee 'God's Army' t-shirt.
Wow.
Having absorbed about all the rebel pride we could take, we headed off for breakfast at IHOP, where James told us stories about my grandparents and we filled up for a day of riding. By 11:30 we were moving along again, restless to get in as many miles as possible and to get out of Florida.
Gas stop in Chiefland, where we're really feeling the southern vibe, and quickly move along with our headsets on to some sinkholes near Tallahassee. It's getting late and it turns out that seeing the sinkholes involves a bit of hiking. We decide to drive on, preferring to save our sightseeing for places farther from home.
Nearing the Gulf Coast, the rain steadily increases and we stop to decide on whether or not we should wrap up in our rain gear (a tough decision when temperatures are already in the 90's and you're already a bit wet). While debating the pros and cons, I notice something odd in the front of my shirt, and after a bit of jerking around, a wasp falls out, which had been kind enough not to sting me. In the meantime, another bike pulls into the station, a man, sunburned, helmetless, with eyes nearly as red as his face. He explains that he'd been riding with someone for a few miles, but they peeled off at their last stop. Already seeing this as an invitation to trouble, we try to get packed back up as quickly as possible while he talks about getting tough for the upcoming rain ("that's what it's all about, right?"). We nod, then pull our rain pants on and ride off.
We have an awesome drive along Gulf and see some great beaches, stilt houses, curvy roads, a long bridge, small towns. The scenery is interrupted when I realize the wasp on my visor is actually on the inside of my helmet. It gives us a chance to take off our rain gear and cool down a bit, and also helps us learn the importance of parking a fully-loaded motorcycle on an even surface. Closing one of the sidecases, we put a little too much pressure on one side of the bike and nearly send it sliding down the shoulder into a ditch. Oops!
The view from the Gulf Sands Motel
Completely burnt out after 7 hours of riding, we crash land about 30 minutes from Panama City at the Gulf Sands Motel. Despite its bad reviews, there wasn't much to complain about, especially being as tired as we were. Besides, we were across the street from the beach! A beach with singing sands!
Next door was Regan's Pub and Oyster Bar, a perfect Florida sports/beach type bar where we had smoked fish dip, calamari, jalapeño poppers, and cheap beer. Threatening storm clouds hung over the beach, but at the time only made the sunset more dramatic. Sandpipers and crabs outnumbered people.
A sketch for the day.
A quick stop over to Exxon for water, beer, pop-tarts and granola bars for breakfast, then back to the hotel, where we cover the Buell, hang up our wet clothes and watch the progress of Hurricane Felix, hoping we can outrun it tomorrow before it moves northward. Feeling really fantastic, relaxed, and optimistic. Outside we hear the rain coming down and the girls who arrived in a truck with a margaritaville license plate. It's a perfect way to say good bye to Florida for a while. Inside it's an early bedtime, with hopes of getting to New Orleans early tomorrow.
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