1 Year, 2 KLRs, and a whole lot of open road...: December 9th-12th, 2009 pt.1

Back on the road again. It was calling for rain in Jacksonville, but I figure we’ll miss it riding south towards Fellsmere, FL where TheRidingLibrarian has graciously offered to host us. Free camping will be a little trickier from here on in with the limited open space in Florida. We decided to hug the cost along A1A and I couldn’t help not to hum the infamous 90’s hip hop tune “Ice Ice Baby” for some reason…alright I lied. I wasn’t humming. I was rapping wholeheartedly like every kid in 1990. Then flashbacks of baggy dress pants, coiffed hair, and unbuttoned overalls rushed through my brain. Oh how the times have changed.

The weather turned out to be great; not a single drop of rain. The combination of the Atlantic Ocean to our left and warm weather was such a contrast to our experience up in Cape Cod. We stopped for a quick break as soon as we reached the city limits of Daytona Beach. Then we rode out to see Midway where the Daytona 500 took place. It was here where Amanda realized she had forgotten to wear her camelback back where we stopped and had left it on one of her side bags. So we back tracked looking for it lying on the road somewhere. It would be easy for someone to say “screw it; I’ll just buy another one”, but unfortunately we don’t have that luxury. If we don’t try to recover it, I can foresee us regretting it when we really need the extra water. We looked and looked and looked. No sign of it on the roadways. We pulled back into the plaza where we had our break and lo and behold! Amanda’s prayers had been answered. The camelback was picked up by someone and perched neatly by the entrance of Dollar Tree.

Trying to get a sneak peek through the back door without having to pay the enterance fee

Uh oh...sun's going down. We better boogie!

It was dark already by the time we arrived in Fellsmere. The gps was leading us to an area where in the deep dark places in the back of my mind, banjo music started to be heard. We turned onto a dirt road and rode along it till there were no longer any street lights and then finally to a dead end. Ok…this is starting to feel a little creepy. Then a huge weight lifted off my shoulders when TheRidingLibrarian’s husband and little boy came out to greet us at the gate. Ooooh I love the suspense! Makes ya feel so alive and alert. Just a few more scenarios like these and our nerves will be made of ice cold steel. Just what we need when we start wrestling with bears in the middle of the night when we get to Alaska.