End of the line...

After a great day at the beach and a kickbutt meal at Crabby Bills, I got my things in order to return to the road.

I left around 11am and quickly got into the groove of putting on the motorcycle miles...

Outside of rest stop 106 Port Charlotte it all came to a crashing halt!

I stopped to have a quick drink and bathroom break. While finishing my drink I sat on a bench outside the vending area. I laid my motorcycle jacket beside me and tried to cool off.

After some quick phone calls, I got ready to hit the road again. That's when it hit me....my wallet was missing!! It must have fallen out when I laid my jacket beside me!! I raced back to the bench and of course it was gone...

In it of course was everything....Dl, credit cards, social security card and even my police badge.....crap

So I called for a report and limped my way back to home in order to try to replace all the stuff that was lost...

Brandon

I woke up at a respectable hour of 10am and after a mandatory couple of cups of coffee, I actually went for a 2 mile run! Well, ok jog...ok fast walk...lol

After laying in a puddle of my own  sweat for about 15 min, I got ready  and headed out to have a beer with my dad. He always drank Bush light, so I got us a 4 pack.

I then headed to a place I've been wanting to check out for a long time....<br>
Taco Bus!<br>

This place has been in several shows including Man vs Food and Diners Drive-ins and Dives! The food is actually served out of a bus and is amazing.

Here is their website:
www.taco-bus.com

Later that day, I met at my old high school friend Rob at his girlfriends house for beer and darts...what a good combination! After downing a couple (ok...8) cold ones we decided to hit an all you can eat sushi place...I felt like a killer whale!

Wrong turn at Albuquerque

I woke up early and said my goodbyes to John and Britta and headed out to Tampa via Carrabella.

As soon as I headed back east on I-10 I saw an exit for Gulf Breeze and decided what the heck. 15 miles into that decision I ran into a toll plaza. Normally that no big deal....but this plaza had no atm and the nearest one was at the gas station at the interstate exit! Lucky for me Tracy the Hawaiian shirt toll lady accepted a check for $3.75! Don't spend it all in one place DOT! LOL

I headed east on US 98 and saw the most amazing beaches! In Destin I thought I had arrived at a carribean town! The water was crystal clear! I pulled over and sat back and ate some freshly picked blueberries and frozen grapes that Britta packed.

I then lazily made my way along the coast until I hit Carrabelle. Which is famous for having the worlds smallest police station. So of course I'm gonna go check it out! Here's the website for it-
http://mycarrabelle.com/index.aspx?NID=62

After checking out the worlds smallest police station I headed south on US 98 and hoped to see a road that would run east to the interstate since it was getting late. A little sidenote, I had forgotten to charge my cellphone and after jamming to my mp3, the batteries began to die. So I was winging it.

After riding for another scenic 2 hour along the gulf coast I saw a sign that said east US 27 to Gainesville. So of course I took it. After another hour of riding through a state forest, I saw a sign that said south US 41 to Tampa....so I took that. Another mind numbing ride through a boring stayed forest I saw another sign that said east US 26 to Ocala. Which I took and it turned into a road that said US 27/41 ...grrr! A nice little 4 hour detour! Oh well, its not like I have a schedule to keep!

Got into Tampa at around 9pm exhausted and sore.... 11 hours on the road! Moms house was a welcome site! A hot shower and a good nights rest!

Bathroom befuddlement

Got an early start with another quick crossfit workout and broke camp. Since it was a beautiful day, I decided to head down US 90 west again towards Pensecola.

I was having a great time and relaxing on the ride for about an hour. Then I started hitting stop lights every couple of miles the road. So as soon as I could I jumped back onto I-10. Outside Pensecola, I kept seeing these signs for the "US 90 Senic Highway". So of course, being the tourist trap goofball and all,  I decided to check it out!

The view of the Pensecola bay was awesome! I kept thinking I should stop and take a pic, but the traffic was too heavy to pull over. Plus my cousin Britta and her husband were expecting me.

Next thing I knew I had accidentally ridden into the "rough" area of town and I got a chance to see the seedy underbelly of Pensecola. I guess every town has its quirks..mental checklist:
where's my gun?
wallet?
probable cause?... check.

Pulled into John and Brittas place and had an incredible visit! After a cold beer we jumped into their saltwater pool and played with my 5 little cousins.

For dinner John drove us to Mcquires (Feasting, Imbibery and Debauchery!) for dinner. Locally famous for their backward Men and Woman bathroom signs. We had a blast watching people accidentally walking into the wrong bathroom! 

So of course I got a shirt from there!

John used to fly on Airforce One and shared some funny stories. He told us about how one time President Bush was jogging on a treadmill while flying and it broke, so he went to the pilots and crew and asked what could be done. After a quick discussion someone said "hey! Let's just call the treadmill company and ask if they know how to fix it since its brand new". The President was like "yeah! Let's call them!"

The call that went something like this:

Airforce One -"Hi treadmill company, this is Airforce One"
Caller- "yeah right....(click)"
Airforce One - "Hey! this is Airforce One, please don't hang up"
Caller- "yeah, don't call here anymore (click)"
Airforce One - "this is Airforce One, we have treadmill serial number such and such"
Caller "(typing)....ummm...please hold"
"Hi this is treadmill company vice president so and so...you having a problem with the Presidents treadmill?!"

Needless to say they had a replacment treadmill at the airport when they landed! LOL

First night...

Due to Tropical Storm Beryl, I had to wait till Tuesday to leave. Even then it was horrible! I packed and left with 5inch rains and wind gusts still at 30mph plus!

Instead of heading out US 90 as planned...I just got on I-10 and put the hammer down! I was getting rained on so hard, that I could see the droplets bounce off horizontaly and sort there suspended for a second before being carried away by the wind. It was very sureal.

As if dodging traffic at 70mph with 30ft visibility wasn't bad enough...I also had to contend with Memorial Day drivers who were more interested in texting and doing their nails (yes I saw that!).

After passing Lake City the skies began to open up and I saw the most beautiful blue! Not to be overly religious, but I really felt like Noah after the flood..I kept expecting a dove to fly by with an olive branch! LOL

After that it was clear riding to the Historic city of Marianne (historic for what, I don't know) and six miles later I was setting up to camp at Florida Caverns.

After making camp, I made a delicious instant pea soup (thanks Amy!) and got a camp fire going. Poured the wine and relaxed!

P.s.
The cincadias here are the loudest I have ever heard. At about 345am last night I couldn't fall back asleep...I ended up using my mp3 player to drown out the noise!

Sinkholes and churches

I started the day with a cup of coffee and a three mile jog through the park. Damn I need to run more! The weather was nice and cool and the road was completely empty of traffic.

While running, I thought I heard a deer crashing through the woods....but more than likely it was a pissed off squirrel that was wishing that loud breathing/wheezing/sweating mammal (me) would go away! LOL

I then got ready and took off for a tour of Falling Waters State park. Riding U.S. 90 was a breeze and before I knew it I was there. The heat had set in and after a long walk in hot Harley boots, I ended up at a very large sinkhole. Even with the recent rains the spring fed waterfall had dried to a trickle.. all that walking for nada...Lol

I decided against jumping into the tempting swimming area and hopped onto US 77 south and headed to Lynn Haven....about 55 miles. US 77 is a long stretch that has literally a church of some sort every 2 miles.....that and horse farms.

After grabbing a prescription from Walgreens (the only one around except for Panama City acording to the park ranger!) I returned to the campsite on SR 231...found a roadside farmers market and bought way too many tomatoes and a hopefully ripe cantalope. Which according to the Uncle Jessie look-a-like "u can tell by smelling it, if it smell like cantalope its ready"

Quote of the day "hey mister, ain't it too hot to ride that bike?" My answer..."Naw pops , it ain't like I'm pedaling ...say hi to Bo and Luke for me".

While riding back I accidently found myself on SR 167.....all I can say is this road was a gem! Sweeping curves and very light traffic! I was jamming to Poison "Ride the wind" smiling ear to ear kicking along at a cool 70mph!

Got back time to jump into the Blue Hole spring and cool off. I then made a delicious dinner of tuna stuffed fresh tomatoes....Mmmm

Tropical Storms!

Are you kidding me?!

Kickstands go up Memorial Day which so happens to coinside with the arrival of Tropical Storm Beryl (is that even a real name?)

Here is a news link about the storms approach Here

My old buddy Jack used to say "Well if it aint raining....you aint riding". Very easy to say unitil your cooking down a barely visible road getting pelted by golfball sized drops of acid rain! But I guess its all part of the adventure/torture. I've got my Frogg Toggs and some G.I. issued waterproof bags to keep my gear dry...hopefully I wont end up like this poor sap...lol