Day 9: Gulf Shores Alabama 33 miles

This was a short day in miles but a long day in effort. We rode along the gulf most of the day with very strong headwind. We were often going only 5 to 7 mph (compared to our usual of 12 mph or so). 

The gulf has white sand beaches. Many places the beaches cannot be seen because of the huge condominiums. We met a young Canadian woman cycling solo to New Orleans from Jacksonville. She rode with us for several miles it gets lonely when you're riding solo.

We are now in Alabama. We have now ridden over 500 miles and still have had only one flat tire. Praise the Lord!

We are staying at the best Western in Gulf Shores. What a view!

Tomorrow include a ferry ride and our goal is Bayou La Batre. We hope the wind has died down.

Day 8: Pensacola Florida 57 miles

The temperature was cold this morning 28° when we started. Had breakfast at McDonald's and sat at a table with two local retired men and had a nice chat. 11 AM it was 44° so we were shedding clothes gradually all day.

We rode on the brick road for a while but it was quite bumpy.

We reached Pensacola about noon. But it took us over an hour to find a motel. It is quite a confusing downtown. Staying at a Marriott so it is nice; there were not many choices since they have a Mardi Gras parade tonight in town.

24 miles from the Florida border. Will stay in Gulf Shores Alabama tomorrow.

Day 7: Crestview Florida 68 miles

The weather continues to be good so we keep on pedaling.  There was no risk of taking a wrong turn today since we stayed on highway 90. Is mostly a 2 Lane Hwy with a good shoulder.

We enjoyed looking at signs. Some of the names are very interesting.

we had our second breakfast at a convenience store.  we bought coffee and eight from our "stash".

We had pizza and salad for lunch and then later stopped at a roadside stand for a treat. They advertised fresh pie. The two choices they had were sweet potato pie and Kool-Aid pie. You could only buy the whole pies so We had to pass. We did have a cup of their homemade chocolate ice cream.

Last night we rode over 2 miles out of our way to get a motel by the I-10. That adds up to over 4 miles off route. tonight we are staying in a cheap motel on route.

It is predicted to be 26° here tomorrow morning!! It does warm up fast (high of 56). Our route takes us to Pensacola Florida tomorrow. That will probably be our last day in Florida.

Day 6: Chipley, Florida 73 miles

We slept well last night in a featherbed. B and B breakfast was a with homemade granola and scones.

The weather was low 30s when we started riding at 7:30. Praise the Lord there was no wind and no rain. The temperature gradually improved and it was beautiful riding weather.

We hit a glitch in Chattahoochee when we missed a turn. Even in looking at the map afterwards it did not look clear. We flagged down a driver for directions and the woman said "hey sugar what do you need?" We had to backtrack--
That cost us about five extra miles.

We made up for the time we lost because we changed time zones. Not as easy to make up for the energy used.

We legitimately could take a rest day,however, we want to keep riding while the weather is so nice.

After eating lunch a couple of guys asked Ron if he was Lance Armstrong --we are not sure if they were serious ha ha.

Sometimes our calories need to come in the form of milkshakes.

You're staying at a Quality Inn. All the hotels were about 2 miles or more off route near the freeway. We are doing laundry which is a very big treat!

We tried to find a full service 

dinner option but there was none in walking distance so we had Wendy's with chili and baked potato.

Day 5: Quincy Florida 45 miles

 Our day started with a B and B breakfast.  It was a little on the light side so we needed to stop 20 miles for bagels. 

We chose to stay on highway 90 rather than take a 20+ mile detour for a bike route. We regretted that decision slightly when we hit some road construction.  The route was hilly and the weather was windy. Of course that wind was a headwind. Temperature was 46 but with the windchill was cooler. 

We rode through Tallahassee which is the capital of Florida and passed the Florida State campus.

We decided to stop here in Quincy because of the wind. Also the next town was 21 miles and the hotel had very bad reviews. We are again in a B and B. This one was built in 1843. It has been lovingly maintained.

The house was built for the 6th governor of Florida. There is also a notebook in the lobby that verifies the house is haunted.

The only restaurant in walking distance was Hardees. 

Tomorrow we will go at least  to Marianna but possibly further if the wind is not an issue.

Day4: Monticello Florida 65 miles

The honeymoon period is over.  We had to put our rain gear on today; we had to climb hills and we had some wind in our face.  But it wasn't really too bad. We were able to find food when we needed it. My brother has been telling us we needed to eat biscuits and gravy. That was on the hotel menu so we both had some to start our day.

We Were surprised that there is a lot of logging in this area. Lots of log trucks passed us. The logs are very scraggly not at all like Oregon.. There was a Georgia Pacific  tree farm.

We arrived at a nice bed-and-breakfast at 2:30 PM. We especially enjoyed a nice long hot tub soak. We are in their Romeo and Juliet room😍.  It is getting close to Valentine's Day.

We had our First Mexican meal tonight. Definitely hit the spot.

Tomorrow we bicycle through Tallahassee. We are not sure where we will stay.

Day 3: Live Oak,Florida 60 miles

This was another very nice day of riding. There were a few Rolling hills but the weather was perfect. we had about 10 miles of bike paths. Most the rest of the time was on County roads with little traffic. 

A man drove by and stopped to talk since he is a rider. He took our pix for us.

We had a picnic at 30 miles since there were not many towns for food options.

This area reminds us of Eastern Oregon since there are lots of ranches (horses). Have seen a lot of large estates and one was labeled a plantation--appropriate for the south. Our first day of riding was more agricultural with potatoes and cabbage being the obvious crops. We saw a road sign that just said "Spuds".

We want to be sure the blues skies are seen in our pictures because that is missing in Oregon right now.

We are trying some of the local food and drink favorites. Sweet tea is very popular but too sweet for us. Had a great turkey barbecue last night.

We are about 85 miles from Tallahassee. 

We expect to stay in Monticello tomorrow.