FLORIDA UPDATE--MORE RIDES

Again I'm going to try to get this post up to you guys back in Iowa in between the storm blasts.  I hear this time it was my favorite weather phenom, the wind!  I'll update you on some rides we have taken since the last post.

I took about a 200 mile round trip up north from here to Samson, AL.  I did this last year and with some guidance from one of the Panama City riders, I found some really nice stretches of county roads including some curves.  As I have said before, when I rode the Dragon there were 341 curves in 11 miles.  Down here there are 11 curves in 341 miles!  A favorite stop for lunch on this route is Granny's in Samson.  A lot of the restaurants down here have buffets with home-cooked food, and Granny's is one of them.  Nothing fancy, just good eats!

GRANNY'S--YES, WE HAVE NO LIMA BEANS

On the way back, I passed by this field.  And no that's not snow.  It's cotton!

I arrived back at our condo.  We got a lot better rate this year!  LOL

My next ride took me again up north to a small park that is actually the highest point in the state of Florida.

YES, A WHOPPING 345 FT!

Here's the trike gasping for air at in the high altitude!

Our latest ride was last Saturday when we rode over to Port St. Joe for lunch at a Mexican restaurant.  Not my favorite type of food, but they toned down the spices for me and NO lima beans.  This group also gathers at a convenience store, but it's Raceway, not Casey's.

RICH AND CATHY--ORIGINALLY FROM IOWA

THEY ALSO HAVE "SUPPORT" VEHICLES

WE ARRIVE AT PEPPERS IN PORT ST. JOE

We arrive back at the condo just in time for a spectacular sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.

We plan on starting back to the frozen tundra on Friday, March 1st.  Right now it looks like we are going to take our "sweet" time getting back there!!

GOOD LUCK TO THE GIRLS' BASKETBALL TEAM TONIGHT!!  We will be listening by computer.

FLORIDA REPORT 3--SOME RIDES

I've been waiting for a let-up in your crap weather before I post anything more from Florida, but the weather witch isn't giving you many breaks back there in northeast Iowa. But on the bright side, Irv may be able to unload a few snowmobiles now! So I thought I might try to catch you up on some of the rides we've done so far.  At this posting, we've put on a little over 1,200 miles on the trike so far.

The first ride I took alone was over to Ft. Walton where I joined the GWRRA chapter over there for their meeting and ride afterwards.  It was kind of fun being able to follow along instead of leading.  I talked to their ride planner and he said he was getting tired of planning their once a month ride.  I said "How would you like to do that every Wednesday plus about a dozen other special rides?!"  Our ride went about 130 miles round trip to Milton, FL, where Boo Weekly and Bubba Watson (pro golfers) attended high school.  We visited a train museum there.

We have done a number of local rides in the area on our own, but none yet with the local Panama City chapter.  We've ridden through Panama City and areas to the east that were devastated by hurricane Michael back in October.  I think we are done riding in that direction, because I am really getting depressed looking at all of the damage.  I can't imagine living there and having to go to work and look at that every day.  Hopefully you guys aren't getting too depressed looking at all the snow!

One of the more interesting rides we have done was over to East Point, FL (about 250 miles round trip).  There we visited a facility that showcased the animals and the features of an estuary.  An estuary is where fresh water from a river flows into a bay of salt water in the ocean.  Many types of animals (especially oysters) live in these areas.

AN OYSTER BOAT

A FLIGHT OF PELICANS

A WHALE'S BACK BONE

There also was a long boardwalk that went out into the bay for further observation and also displays of some of the live animals and fish, but the hurricane destroyed most of the boardwalk and took out the equipment used to keep the animals and fish alive.  They all had to be set free!

Our most recent ride was to Falling Waters State Park near Chipley, FL.  Florida had done a great job with their state parks, particularly in the panhandle.  This park has a huge waterfall (700 ft.) that flows into a huge sink hole.  The whole park has several huge sink holes, but I doubt if we could turn the sink holes in Allamakee County into tourist attractions!  Here's a short video of the falls.

I know in your area, if you can't run a snowblower, you ain't crap!

HI'YA, CHUCKLES!

If you ain't a roofer or a dump truck driver down here, you ain't crap!

THE ROOF ON THE CONDO NEXT TO US

Hopefully by the next post, your weather will have improved, and congrats to the girls' basketball team for making the state tournament!

FLORIDA REPORT 2--THE CRUISE

I just checked the upcoming weather back in Waukon, and thought I'd better do my next update before the next blast hits.  The Wingers and Waves cruise we took for six days (Feb.25-31) was our fifth.  This year we had about 180 Gold Wingers aboard.  (Quite the motorcycle gang!)  We boarded the Navigator of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) on Feb. 25th at Ft. Lauderdale, FL. and departed for Nassau, Bahamas at 3 PM.  We arrived in the Bahamas at 8 AM on the 26th.  Our shore excursion was a bus tour of the Nassau area.  One of the highlight stops on the tour was the world famous Atlantis Resort.  We got a chance to tour part of the facility and found out to stay in the room that belonged to Michael Jackson would cost $35,000 a night with a minimum of four nights.  (We reserved it for four nights next year.  LOL!)  Here's some photos of Atlantis.

After our bus tour we returned to the ship for our nightly 3 course supper with our Gold Wing group.  As some of you know, the food on a cruise is delicious and plentiful!  We departed the Bahamas at 4:30 sailing for Labadee, Haiti.  The 27th was a day at sea with no shore excursions.  The Wingers had a get-together with 50 & 60's music and dancing.  Each evening there is live entertainment in a huge theatre on the ship.  Tonight it was a very funny comedian.

We made port at Labadee in Haiti on the morning of the 28th.  Labadee is a port area in Haiti that is actually owned by Royal Caribbean.  Our shore excursion was a tour that focused on the history and culture of Labadee.  We were entertained by some of the native Haitians including a live fire eater!

We departed Labadee at 5PM sailing for Falmouth, Jamaica.  Our entertainment for the night was a very professional presentation of the musical GREASE.
We arrived in Falmouth on the morning of the 29th with our shore excursion being a tour and shopping experience.  We stopped at some very scenic spots and learned about some of the historic events on the island.  We stopped at a couple of outlets for souvenir shopping.

WHAT IS THIS WNR SHOPPING FOR??!!

The 30th was a day at sea heading back to Ft. Lauderdale and the Wingers had a Reggae party where prizes were awarded for the best reggae costumes.

We arrived back at the port in Ft. Lauderdale on the morning of the 31st.  We picked up the truck and got back on the moving parking lot (I 95) heading back north bound for Panama City Beach.  We took HWY 98 and passed through Mexico Beach and saw some of the vast hurricane Michael damage.  We arrived back at the condo on Feb. 1st and went for a ride on the trike.  I shouldn't mention it, but this part of Florida has been setting new record high temperatures (80's).  More about the rides here in some upcoming posts.

FLORIDA REPORT 1

We have been watching the weather back home, and have been a little hesitant about sending reports from places much warmer than northeast Iowa.  I know Blockers are holding up in Arizona for a while, Zahns have been in Florida for the duration, and Gelos were taking shelter in St. Louis.  It looks like things are a little better back there now, so I'll try to update you on our winter journey without sounding like a smart ass!

We waited out a snowstorm in Iowa and waited to leave for the South on Tuesday, the 22nd.  We drove a little over 600 miles to Jackson, TN (home of Casey Jones and Carl Perkins) for our overnight stay.  This is the first year in all the years we have travelled to Florida that there was snow on the ground all the way to Cape Gerardo, MO.  Except for the occasional blowing snow, the highways were clear.  However, we bucked a 30 mile wind all the way.

On the second day, the 23rd, and again bucking a 30 mph wind, we travelled another 400+ miles to Defuniak Springs, FL for another overnight stay.  We stayed in Defuniak because the motels in Panama City Beach doubled their prices because of the shortage of rooms due to the hurricane.  I plan on sending a nasty letter to Choice Hotels to accusing them of gouging people and the insurance companies! Then the next morning we drove to Panama City Beach to the condo and drop off the trike and trailer and make our way down to Ft. Lauderdale to catch our cruise ship.  I was still amazed at the amount of damage done by the hurricane in this area.  On the way down, I wanted to stop in Bushnell, FL  to visit the grave site where my good friend from high school is interned at the Florida National Cemetery there.  The Florida National Cemetery is for veterans, and is a very impressive, well-cared for facility (which it should be).  We stayed overnight in Brooksville and took off for Ft. Lauderdale on the morning of the 24th.

The drive down to Ft. Lauderdale was all on I 95.  For the most part, we moved right along, but when we got within 25 miles of the turn off to our hotel, I 95 became a moving parking lot.  It took us over an hour to go the last 25 miles!  We arrived at the overpriced Fairfield Inn where we could leave the truck parked while on the cruise.  It cost us $212 to stay the night and leave the truck for the six days, and then we were charged another $20 each for transportation to and from the cruise port.  Just to let you know the people in Florida were not happy with the temperatures (high 50's to mid 60's).  They were wearing parkas and snow boots while I was running around in shorts and  t-shirt!

We made it to the port on the morning of the 25th to set sail for the Bahamas.  More on the cruise itself in the next report.  In the meantime--STAY WARM!!

OUR HOME FOR THE NEXT SIX DAYS