TRIP TOTALS

Showers:                          7 (each).  Look at us, showering about twice a week now! [g: umm, it is called a prewash cycle followed by wash cycle, does that count as 2? Giggle]

Tent Nights:                     20

Hotel Nights:                    4

“Rustic” Cabin Nights:    4

Restaurant Meals           5

Miles Traveled:               844.43

TRIP UPDATE

North Carolina.  Check!

South Carolina.  Check!

Georgia.  Check!

And we cross over into Florida on Wednesday morning!  Progress!  We’ll be in Florida for a long, long time as we plan to ride all the way down to Key West (and back if they won’t let us on the ferry), plus we have a stop planned to visit family for an extended break.  This will be our last new state for several weeks.

Looking at the map, it may have appeared our last couple of weeks were rather boring.  We weren’t near the excitement of the coast and bypassed some of the major tourist destinations.  Looks can be deceiving as this section of our trip proved to be very rich on experiences.

In Point South we stayed at a KOA managed by a very nice gentleman who provided lots of good information and advice for our journey.  It’s a stop we’d recommend to anyone, even those not interested in tent camping as you can rent a trolley car or caboose in which to spend the night!  As they were unrented during our stay, we peeked inside and they looked very nice!  The campground also has a coffee shop, small store, hot food, and evening wine tasting.  He said he wanted it to be like staying in a hotel, but camping, so you get the best of both worlds.  It is a great place!

From there we moved on to Gordonia-Alatahama State Park and met Al, the park ranger who was accommodating and encouraging.  We also talked a bit with the campground hosts, who were just as nice and welcoming.  Everyone has a story, and theirs was a compelling one that gave us a little wind in our sails to continue on our journey.  It’s been fun to hear about the lives of others, and how many of them ended up with the same sort of conclusions that led us to this trip.

Next we made a connection through Couchsurfing that we thought would just be a yard in which to pitch our tent and avoid the sun.  It turned out to be a family who extended a welcome mat and offered us hospitality far, far beyond our expectations.  There were boiled peanuts and muscadine grapes, picked just that day.  We tasted jelly as it was being canned.  Mmmm! And we had our first home cooked meal in a month!  We even left with a cold watermelon tucked in the trailer with the pups, and a Ziploc package of hard boiled eggs.  It was the first day of dove hunting season, and one of the neighbors stopped by to show us a visitor he saw that day, a 5’ rattlesnake.  Though dead, it was still twitching and moving, and even striking a stick occasionally.  And, as luck would have it, peeing.  Right on Georgia.  As if she didn’t need a shower before!

The next stop was at a camp, closed for the summer, but opened up just for us to stay a night out of the heat.  The Pastor and his wife brought us by a cooler with ice, water, and two very tasty Gatorades.  Two other folks checked on us too, to see if we needed anything.  We certainly felt welcomed and really enjoyed the break from the heat.

And our most recent stop is a small B&B in Folkston, GA, a town known for trains.  The owners live on site, and are very friendly and accommodating.  Plus, the breakfast is fantastic!  They even made gluten-free pancakes!  Again, they have a story that runs somewhat parallel to ours, pursuing something that ignites their passions even though it involved risk.  We’d stay there again in a heartbeat.

It is our hope that all of the people we have met in the last few days are reading this.  Thank you!  That’s very, very sincere.  All of you now ride with us!

Tomorrow we have a lot of miles to cover, about 60, to make our next destination so we are currently soaking up the chance to rest and relax.  A nap might even be involved, since we won’t spend the afternoon quietly sweating in the shade like on most days!   As we write this, we both feel strong and rested and ready for the challenge.

We are nearing 1,000 miles, which seems like a major milestone to us.  That’s a long way, even in a car.  There are still a lot of challenges ahead, but we are all working well as a team (even the pups).    And, most importantly, we are having the time of our lives!

— Mark, Georgia, Junebug and Biscuit

#justride