DRAWING TO A CLOSE

It seems all too soon, but our stay in Panama City Beach is coming to an end.  We are going to be in the south for a time yet, but our motorcyling will be more limited.  On Saturday, the 22nd, we will be departing PCB for Miami where we will be boarding the Celebrity Infinity cruise ship on the 24th for a five night cruise to Key West and Cosumel.  This will be our 6th year cruising with Gold Wing Road Riders Association riders from all over the US and Canada.  We have always had a great time on these voyages. After the cruise we will return to PCB for a couple of days of rest and to gather up the trike and trailer and head for South Carolina to see Julie's sister.  She recently lost her husband, so this is an important trip for us.

Since our last report, the mileage on the trike is now a bit over 3,000 since the first of the year.  Some recent trips we made include a 180 mile journey to Chattahoochee and the Woodruff dam on Lake Seminole.  That's where the Aplachicola River begins its journey into the Gulf of Mexico where the oysters are harvested.  We also made a 200 mile trip down the coast of the gulf and over to St. George Island with a stop at Eastpoint for a visit to an estuary visitors center.  An estuary supports a lot of marine life, since it where fresh water is combined with salt water and the mixture must be just right to sustain fish and mammal life.

ONE "PISSED OFF" GATOR

ONE CURIOUS OTTER

On St. George Island I had one of my favorite sandwiches down here, a shrimp po' boy.
Another journey of about 108 miles took us over to Wewahitchca, the Tupelo honey capitol of Florida.  There we had a picnic at Gaskin Park on the two rivers that flow into the Apalachicola.
I also made two trips over to Ft. Walton Beach, once for their GWRRA chapter meeting.  They got quite a kick out of the story I told them about the trip to Hell this summer.  On my second journey over there, I stopped at the Air Force Armament Museum.  I had been there a couple of years ago, but they always add new displays.

SOME OUTSIDE AIRCRAFT

A C-37 WWII TRANSPORT

A THUNDERBOLT

THE NEXT TWO PHOTOS ARE OF CANNONS MOUNTED TO PLANES

MISSILES LAUNCHED FROM PLANES

THE "BIG BOY" ATOMIC BOMB

A P-47 MUSTANG WWII FIGHTER

ONE BIG LONG PLANE!

My most recent trip was up to Defuniak Springs on Monday to have lunch with some of the Dothan, AL chapter members.  It was a "cool" cloudy day, so the only ones showing up on bikes were from the Florida group, me and James.

JAMES RODE WITH ME

SOME OF THE REST OF THE GROUP

Sometime after our cruise if we don't get the coronavirus, I'll send out another post.  

In the meantime--a little humor from a biker magazine I read while down here. 

MANUFACTURERS SPEAK OUT ABOUT DECLINING BIKE SALES

     The slump in sales of big bikes is not President Trump's fault.  The Baby Boomers all have motorcycles, Generation X is only buying a few, and the Millennials aren't buying any at all.  A recent study was done to find out why Millennials don't ride motorcycles.

1.  Pants won't pull up far enough for them to straddle the seat.
2.  Can't get their phone to their ear with a helmet on.
3.  Can't use two hands to eat while driving.
4.  Don't get a trophy and a recognition plaque just for buying one. 
5.  Don't have enough muscle to hold the bike up when stopped.
6.  Might have a bug hit them in the face and then they would need 
     emergency care.
7.  Motorcycles don't have air conditioning.
8.  Can't afford one because they spent 12 years in college trying to 
     get a degree in Humanities, Social Studies or Gender Studies,  
     for which no jobs are available.
9.  Allergic to fresh air.
10. Pajamas get caught on the exhaust pipes.
11. Might get their hands dirty checking the oil.
12. Handlebars have buttons and levers, and can't be controlled by  
      touch screen.
13. Too dangerous to take selfies while riding.
14. Don't come with training wheels as their bicycles did.
15. Don't have power steering or power brakes.
16. Nose ring interferes with face shield.
17. Would have to use leg muscle to back up.
18. When stopped, a light breeze might blow exhaust in their face.
19. Could rain on them and expose them to non-soft water.
20. Might scare their emotional support dog, then the dog would 
      therapy.
21. Can't get the motorcycles down the basement stairs of their 
      parent's home.