When I did get up and check the weather, it was not a good sight to be seen. There was a nasty weather system building and moving eastward that basically meant headwinds followed by thunderstorms and accompanying sudden downpours. The middle one of those is what caused me the most concern. Wind is inevitable on such a trek, rain is acceptable provided it's not so bad that drivers can't see you, but lightning is something that I have always found awesome yet unnerving not having had much of it in Vancouver. So, it seemed that I would be taking up Al and Sally's offer to put me up, assuming they could put up with me. OK, not the best pun, but I've been getting rusty not living with the punster Tim in Sackville, so I do my best. I also made a good one about frying fish, but more about that later...
So, Al cleared his schedule and decided that we should go see the beaches since I had not yet experienced those of the Floridian panhandle. Off we went in his truck to Navarre, 'Forida's best kept secret'. As we unloaded Nancy and Al's trike, I could see why. The scenery, great company, and headwind followed by a tailwind when we turned around (ah the luxury of a non-touring multi-directional ride) made for a great morning of riding near the beach. Al is training for a big bicycle trek in Maine, where some of his family lives, this June and is hoping to do it on the trike! We then went over to the Pensacola beaches. When Al and Sally had mentioned 'dipping my toes' in the Gulf of Mexico the night before at dinner, I took that to mean that I just had to jump in. Twas a windy day so I didn't stay in the water long as the waves were quite rough, but boy am I glad I got that opportunity.
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| Al on his trike |
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| Me testing it out. Boy is it neat to ride! |
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Big waves, but the water wasn't as cold as I expected
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To sum up, from Wednesday afternoon until Sunday morning, I did not make any 'progress' that might be seen on a bike touring route map. What I did do, however, was feel comfortable and welcomed into Al and Sally's home and lives and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I got to try grits for the first time when we had company for breakfast and I just may have to swap them in for oatmeal on occasion. Sally invited me to join her at the writer's group she is president of, and I was fortunate enough to spend an evening in the company of over a dozen enthusiastic characters who shared everything from pieces of science fiction to poetry from a woman who had never before shared her writing with others. Emily, one of Al and Sally's dear friends, was also staying at the house for the last bit of my stay and, well, Al joked that he was quite hard done by from having three women around to give him a hard time. On Friday I did some baking and made peach muffins, coconut rice pudding, and an apple crisp for Saturday's fish fry.
What is a fish fry, you might ask? Or maybe it was just me who needed to ask such a silly question. Anyhow, on Saturday afternoon after a walk around the neighbourhood and game of dominoes with Emily and Sally, people from Al and Sally's church group started to arrive laden with food and smiles. There were six different kinds of fish being deep-fried, in the shelter of the garage due to non-sunny-weather, as well as hush-puppies and many other treats. I had a great time chatting with people about all sorts of things and there is clearly a great sense of caring in this community of faith. Hearing stories of how people ended up living in the region, being shown pictures of grandchildren on iPhones, and listening to how some of these people felt about American politics and their neighbours to the north made me feel like a welcome participant and a curious observer at the same time, both of which I have found I really like when travelling.
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| Post-plunge, may be sneezing out saltwater for weeks... |
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Two Canadians in Florida. Sally and I during my baking session.
A piece of mango destined to sit atop the rice pudding! |
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