SECOND REPORT FROM FLORIDA

 Before I get into our Florida adventures, on behalf of the Wednesday Night Riders I would offer condolences to Cathy Gelo on the passing of her father, Bob Heimer.  The Heimers were our neighbors  in Northgate for many years.  Bob probably had one of the most "cared for" lawns in the neighborhood if not the whole town.  I know he enjoyed cross country skiing and trapping down at Sweeney's Pond.  Bob was a successful businessman and a good friend to a lot of us.

The weather here in the Florida panhandle continues to remain pleasant, although it was cool and rainy last week.  (I know you are not feeling sorry for us!)  Actually one of the storms coming in from the gulf put on quite a show.  Here's a couple of photos one of our friends took last week.

So far we have been able to rack up about 1,300 miles on the trike.  Most of the riding lately has been on our own cruising around on some of the county roads in the area.  On one of my more adventurous trips, I followed quite a number of paved roads until all of a sudden the pavement ended, and I had no idea how I got there.  Fortunately, a farmer came by and when I told him "my butt was lost", he said to follow him and he ushered me into Chipley, FL, where I was able to get on pavement back to Panama City Beach.

Here's a couple of video clips of rides I took where I didn't get lost.  Notice the roadside attractions on the right side of the road in the second video.

Julie and I also traveled along the coast over to St. Joe, FL to see the new marina they were building after the hurricane.  It is also a popular fishing spot, but they weren't having much luck that day.  Sometime I want to join them.

A BIG PELICAN FISHING

MUST BE A HOT SPOT

NEW DOCKS BEING BUILT

THE GIRL IN THE HOODIE HAD THE BEST LUCK

THIS SHIP WAS BUILT IN PANAMA CITY AND FINISHED HERE

We attended a RTE with the Ft. Walton chapter at Ruby Tuesday's in Niceville, FL (yes, that's the real name of the town).  After the meal, one of the members invited us to his church at Ponce de Leon, FL (yes, that's the real name of the town) for a wild game feed on the following Saturday.  We attended and were treated to wild hog, quail, catfish, deer, squirrel, rabbit, and alligator (tastes like chicken).  The wild hog was delicious and there was plenty of it, since there is open season and no limits on wild hogs here.  We also stuffed ourselves on the homemade deserts.  (Remind me to tell you the story about wild hog when the Allamakee Sportsmen's Club used to have a wild game feed.)

This Saturday we journeyed up north to Blountsville, FL to join the Dothan, AL chapter (Wiregrass U Crew) for a RTE at a restaurant called Fiddler's Steamhouse and Oyster Bar.  Their specials that day were "all you can eat" crab legs and two pounds of oysters.  Since neither of us like oysters and are not good at cracking crab legs, we opted for the seafood platter.  The place was packed and I'll bet they had to send the "Deadliest Catch" boats out again to reload!

Parked right next to Fiddler's was an old steam locomotive from a railroad that had quite a history (shortest railroad in Florida).  I have always been fascinated by steam engines, so it was quite a treat for me to look this one over.

Besides riding we have played some golf, and I am still shooting my pistols at the new indoor gun range here in PCB.  This week Frank Goltz arrives, so he will be joining me at the range.

And just so you know.....

First Report From Florida

 After driving through total slop through Iowa, we made our first stop in Dyersburg (not Dyersville), TN. and stayed overnight at a very nice Days Inn.  The poor trike was just covered with slop picked up from the highways.  The snow cover was as far south as we have ever seen it on on way down here.

From Dyersburg, we made our way to near Gadsden, AL, to have the guy I bought the trike from years ago see if he could fix the leaky trunk.  However, when we arrived there, we found out that the part he needed (weather strip) had not been shipped, so we made our way into Gadsden for an overnight stay at Econo Lodge.  A motel to forget!  We took off for Forida, and made our way to the newly remodeled  Days Inn in Defuniak Springs, FL. for a good stay.  However during the night, the area received over 4 inches of rain, but the new trike cover I ordered from Nelson-Rigg did it's job.

We cruised into Panama City Beach and arrived at our condo on New Year's Eve.  After unpacking and unloading the trike, we got to see Iowa beat Kentucky in the Music City Bowl.

Right away the next morning (New Year's Day) we got on the trike and scooted over to Freeport, FL to meet up with the Ft. Walton motorcycle group for their annual New Year's Day ride.

THE GROUP GATHERS

They also have a number of 4 wheelers that join their rides.  We were guided on a fantastic ride through the Florida and Alabama countrysides (almost all smooth county roads--just like your leader back home!).  Our destination was a RTE at Shane's Rib Shack in Enterprise, AL.  I didn't have the action camera unpacked, but we were able to follow Jim Watson, one of the Ft. Walton group who takes videos and photos of their rides (kind of like someone you know!)  Hopefully you will be able to click on the following link and follow our journey.  Jim does a great job with this!

https://rumble.com/v24hrg8-new-years-day-2023-enterprise-al.html

The ride lasted for about two hours, and while our butts were a little tired, the food at Shane's was excellent.  Donnie led us on a more direct ride home.  This club is very fortunate to have a ride leader like Donnie!  We racked up about 250 miles round trip.

Because we have had some real nice weather here, we have put a little over 600 miles on the trike, and I am getting better gas mileage after I washed all the mud off her!  We had a get-together with the Dothan, AL, club last Tuesday, and we plan to go on some of their rides.  We also have a couple of get-togethers and rides scheduled with the Ft. Walton club.  I also plan to journey over to Pensacola, FL, this Saturday and attend one of their club meetings.  All three of these clubs were chapters in the now defunct GWRRA.  The Ft. Walton and Pensacola chapters have reorganized under the new Eagle Wings Motorcycle Association.  This is a national organization that is open to all makes of motorcycles, not just Gold Wings.  ChucK and Dee and Julie and I joined at the Iowa Rally this fall.

I understand that you have had some decent temps back in Iowa, but seemingly a lot of ice.  Keep that up there.  We are expecting a cold front here in the next couple of days with lows near freezing and highs in the low 50's.  I know, I know, but that is real cold for the natives here in the Florida panhandle.

I'll close with a few shots from our condo on the 8th floor.

The sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico are spectacular!

The "Weather Witch" can get angry here too!

View at night.  Most lights are orange so as not to attract sea turtles.

The beach can be a busy place.

Special thanks goes out to Chuckles, who helped me load the trike onto the trailer and out of the snow field in the back yard.

UNTIL NEXT TIME--HERE'S WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY AND SAFE NEW YEAR!