| Page 18 ................Day 78 - 4/1/02 Continued from previous page Darren, at the High Tide recommended the Lighthouse restaurant for dinner. We got directions and started to walk, it was 3/4 of a mile from the motel. Well after a 1-1/2 miles we turned back to see if we had gone the wrong way. We went to the BP gas station and asked where the Lighthouse restaurant is and they told us and we were going the right way only instead of 3/4 of a mile it was close to 3 miles. We told Tracy at the BP what we just did and she felt so sorry for us she gave us a ride in her truck to the Lighthouse. (Thank You Tracy) That was very kind of you. Kendra was our server for the evening and when she heard of our adventure getting there and that we had to walk the 3 miles back to the motel, she said " No way y'all are walkin that tonight, you'll get yourself killed on that bridge, one way or another I'll get you home". And she did. Kendra arranged for Trashele, another waitress, to give us a ride. When we walked out of the restaurant Trashele had her car warmed up and all four doors opened waiting for us. All of us were amazed. We have all our lives heard of Southern Hospitality, now we are experiencing it first hand. Trashele you went above and beyond. We can’t thank you enough for all the kindness we received from Tracy, Kendra, and Trashele. That is a how breakfast reunion turned in to a full day of SIMPLY MAGIC. Day 79 - Tue 4-2-02 - mileage today 40.5 - climbed today 0 GOOD BYE GOOD FRIENDS Today we must say good-bye to Jim and Claudia. We must push on and they too must go. We have deadlines to meet. We had breakfast at the High tide restaurant and bakery once again just like yesterday. It was obvious that we were all enjoying each other, but the undertone of farewell was in the air. We broke bread in a ceremonial way of sorts. We had The High Tides famous Hoebread. Hoebread is pan-fried bread that is slightly burnt on one side. It is much like a large, thick pancake. It is to be eaten in a shared fashion. We all agreed that it was wonderful as well as filling. Jerry and Jigger the owners were kind enough to bring out a jar of their homemade plum preserves for the occasion. Everybody at the High Tide was wonderful to us. They helped make our reunion special and memorable, Thank You. We took pictures, said good-bye and were on our way. Myron and I were still coming down from the wonderful visit when we met a nice couple Rich and Lois from Minnesota. Rich and Lois are on vacation here in Alabama. We me them while waiting for a ferry to cross us over to Mobil point which is a spit on the mainland. We enjoyed meeting both Rich and Lois. Rich was kind enough to take pictures of Myron and myself with his digital camera which he will email to Denise. Myron and I cycled to Gulf Shores, Alabama and camped out in a housing subdivision that is under construction. Day 80 - wed 4-3-02 - mileage today 49.9 - climbed today 0 FLORIDA FIRE FRIENDS We entered Florida at about 11:00 am today, State #8. We stopped at a sheriff station for directions. We met Pete Gallop. I asked Pete if he was the guy who always calls me on the phone asking me questions I know nothing about. He laughed and said, he is related to the Gallop's that run the polls. As it turns out Pete was a cadet at Whiting field, in Milton, Fl. at the same time Myron was stationed there in the 1950's (small world). We will be cycling thru the Pensacola Naval Air Station, this is where the Blue Angels are stationed. They practice several times a week. I hope I can see them practice. We cycled into Pensacola, what a neat old town district they have. Pensacola was founded in 1572. There is an old town district similar to Jamestown, VA. After cycling around the historic district, we stopped in at the local coffee house for a cup of joe and ran into some nice people. We met Lavera Morrison; she winters down here and summers in the Chicago area. We also met Jim and Sherri Helman. They are on vacation from Traverse City, Michigan. Myron's daughter, Denise once raced in Traverse City. We also met a family from North Carolina, I can’t remember their names, but I remember that the father was stationed at the naval language school in Monterey, California. I also remember their daughter, Sherry found Myron’s glasses and radio. She brought them out to him saving us a long backtrack and a lot of headaches, Thank you Sherry. When we left we said, that was a good stop, we really enjoyed meeting everybody. It was getting late and we had to find a place to camp. We cycled about 12 more miles and over two bridges to Pensacola Beach. We stopped at the firehouse on the Island and were welcomed by the whole crew, Dan, Scott, Jonathan, Jeffery, Pat, Eugene, Joseph, Gene and Charles. We were asked if we would like to sleep inside, but we declined. We didn’t want to be in the way or intrude, so we set up our tents in the back outside. Our new FLORIDA FIRE FRIENDS made a special breakfast for us. Even Pat the battalion Chief joined us for breakfast as well as two shifts of firefighters. They let me use the shower facilities, you know how I like and NEED my showers. What a great group of guys. We really had a great time with them; I especially like the stories of what they have done. We took their pictures and we hope to have them up on the website soon. We had to push off, have headwinds and we want to do at least 60 to 65 miles today. Myron and I road a few miles and I couldn’t resist, I had to get into the beautiful blue-green water. Soon after we got out of the water Scott came driving up in a rescue truck. I left our map at the station. Myron and I can’t believe how nice they were to us. About 10 miles down the road we were met flagged down by Lucas a firefighter that we had not yet met. He is also a Ranger with the 82nd Airborne. The firehouse had called him to intercept us for the map. Lucas also said he knew some firefighters in Panama City that we can stay with. Wow can you believe it! Day 81 - Thursday 4-4-02 - mileage today 62.2 - climbed 0 THANK YOU Escanbia County Fire Rescue Sta.13, for everything you did for us. We really enjoyed meeting you. DIPPIE DOTS We had a beautiful day for cycling. The weather was fantastic, the scenery even better. We cycled for a long time along the waters edge of the Gulf. It is amazing how quickly the water changes from a deep blue to a turquoise. We couldn’t wait any longer we had to try the water so we stopped cycling to jump in. It is wonderful. We were recently contacted and offered the use of The Mick’s beach house. We accepted their generosity. I can’t wait; we will be there early next week. I will swim till I can’t swim any longer. We crossed a bridge into Navarre this morning and Myron called a friend Robert to say where we were. Robert said if you look 1-1/2 miles west of the bridge on the waters edge you would see my grandparents house. Myron looked, and then asked me if the fire we see is 1-1/2 miles west I said yes. We hope it wasn’t Roberts grandparents house. We stopped in Destin for some Dippy Dots the ice cream of the future. Well all I have to say is I hope I don’t live that long. Yuk, that isn’t ice cream, it is more like a kids candy. They are little beads of coated ice cream; it is more like, imitation ice cream food product. There are no toppings. You eat it like you would a cup of candy sprinkles that go on top of a cake. We camped in a wooded area near Grayton Beach,Fl. Myron and I had dinner at Nicks restaurant last night, we met many wonderful well wishers there. Thank you for all your kind thoughts. |
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