Beach Day

Last day of hanging out here in Florida before turning North again.  And it was a great day for hanging out.  Started out chilly, 41 degrees, but the sky was perfectly clear and the sun was out in full force, warming the day to the mid-60’s by the afternoon.

This state park has 15 miles of trails through the woods and around some small inland lakes.  We hiked a couple of the trails, totaling about three miles, enjoying the walk through the pine forest and the blue skies.

After returning to the camp site, we loaded up on fresh water, emptied the waste tanks, and readied the ship for take-off.  We drove to the day-use area and parked there as checkout time was 1pm and we didn’t want to return by 1pm.  We made sandwiches, packed them in the bike bags, and rode the trail down to the beach access.

Once on the beach, we parked ourselves just above the waterline and ate our lunch, listening to the water lapping on the shore and watching some kids build a sand castle on a sand bar.  The white sand and the sunshine made for a very bright scene, and I forgot my sunglasses, so I was doing a continual squint.

After lunch we laid out a couple of towels and took a nap on the beach.  Next couple of days are gonna be some hard driving and we’re driving away from the sunshine, so may as well store up as much sunshine as possible.

After taking a walk on the beach and wading in the gentle surf, it was time to start heading back.  Kinda hard leaving the sunshine and the water and the beach, but there are many miles to go before we sleep.

Back at the RV, I wrestled the covers on the bikes, hung them on the rack, and made sure everything was lashed securely on the outside.  We left Topsail at just before 3pm.

Google Maps can be a bit frustrating at times because it will route you down some strange roads because it’s several seconds faster than the more major roads that are actually listed on a printed map.  I’ve been down some narrow, steep, winding roads high in the mountains that were absolutely scary in a large vehicle, only to find out that there was a much easier route.

In this case Google Maps again found some of the minor roads, mapping what appeared to be a straighter route than US-331 North.  But this time, the minor roads ran through some of the most beautiful rural parts of Alabama.  Farms and small towns and little churches and some wooded areas, quite an enjoyable drive.  I was disappointed when the route hooked up with I-65 in Montgomery.  It will be interstates for most of the remainder of the trip.  Not my favorite mode of driving, but it is the most time-efficient.

We stopped for the night at a Cracker Barrel north of Birmingham.  258 miles covered today.