When we last posted, we were on our way to Savannah, GA where we had booked a room at the Marriott Riverfront hotel. We had an irresistible urge to stay there since it marked the end of our 2018 Seattle to Savannah bike ride.  As was the case three years ago, the hotel staff cheered and applauded our latest journey.

Jay continued to take advantage of the favorable weather putting in 378 miles over the last five days. Sunday was a rest day in Edgewater, FL just south of Daytona Beach. Since August 16, we have covered 2,100 miles and estimate we have another 490 miles to Key West.

Jay’s cycling experience has been a mix of smooth, traffic free roads to the rough and tumble of busy state highways some with and some without shoulders/bike lanes. He also has had his share of road closures due to construction, bridges rising into the sky, ferries and laid-back beach towns.

On our last night in Georgia, we camped at the Crooked River State Park in St. Mary. What a gorgeous campground! The lawn areas were neatly groomed, the paved roads were in excellent condition, and the level sites were large and far enough apart to be quite comfortable. The only downside were signs that warned people to watch out for alligators!

While Jay was busy pedaling away, once in Florida, Helen took advantage of the time to enjoy our stay in St. Augustine by taking a hop-on, hop-off trolley tour. Naturally, most of the tour is in the historical district of the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the

United States, established in 1565, 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The trolley drivers are well-versed on people, dates and circumstances.

As you can imagine, people weren’t as tall 400 years ago as they are now. There is a life size statue of Ponce de Leon in a park. He was 4’11” tall, one of the taller men of his time. Parts of the wall around the city were made of the trunks of palm trees, and they were only about 5 feet tall. Most adults now can look over the example that exists near de Leon’s statue, but that wasn’t the case when the original walls were built.

Henry Flagler (1830-1913) was an enterprising businessman, a founder of Standard Oil, and founder of the East Coast Railway. He made a significant impact on the economy of Florida. He built a number of buildings, including several churches, hotel, and buildings in St. Augustine that are now part of Flagler College, considered one of the top 10 most beautiful college campuses in the US. He was one of the first in Florida to use poured concrete instead of bricks to construct some of his buildings.

Sharp tabby wall discouraged enemies

Of course, St. Augustine also includes a historic jail (admission is $15 and Helen’s too cheap to pay that exorbitant amount!) and the Fountain of Youth (which also has an admission price, but our trolley took a short ride around the grounds). All in all, if you’re interested in history, it would be easy to spend a week here just walking or biking around and taking in all the sites!

When Jay gets back on the road, we are planning to meet up with family who will be visiting Miami later this week. 

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