Day 9..."and miles to go before I sleep"

Day 9 (Wed, Jun 18)...hurry up and wait

Today was all about speed.  I needed to make miles before the afternoon thunderstorms, so the theme song for today would be about the need…the need for speed…Danger Zone!

 

I resisted the urge to utilize the coastal highway and elected to hit the interstate today…I really wanted to make it to Miami/Homestead as a jumping off point to Key West.  Although the interstate lacks the charm of the slower, but more interesting coastal highway, it has a personality all its own.  Traffic wasn’t all that bad and there were fewer trucks on this interstate than on I-70.  There was no wind and remarkably few bugs on the windshield.

And, not surprisingly, if you look hard enough you can see things along the highway that let you know you are DEFINITELY in Florida.

 

About lunch time I stopped at a nice, shady, place that advertised all the things for which people come to Florida ... shells, gators, and tickets to SeaWorld.  I needed lunch and there was a big stack of watermelons for just $2.50 each.  So $2.50 later I was the proud owner of a 10 pound watermelon.  Of course I just happened to have a knife and I ate the whole thing by myself while sitting in the shade of a large old tree... it was great!  When I finished I waddled back to the bike and sloshed my way down the road.

 

 
Traffic was still moving fast... the posted speed limit was  70MPH, but that was for the slow lane. Most traffic was cruising around 78-80 and the occasional vehicle blasted past me doing at least 90.  If you aren't one of pack leaders you have to continually worry about vehicles coming up behind at a great rate.  It's a nerve wracking experience and after an hour or so it feels good to pull over and stretch your legs and shake out the physical and mental cramps.  Florida has some really pretty rest areas.

 

 

 

 



And did you ever wonder where butter came from?

As the day progressed clouds became larger and puffier.  At about 5PM, after riding through a couple of "sun showers" the sky became dark blue in front of me and it was obvious that there was going to be a major rain event.   Luckily a few miles later there was an exit that promised shelter.  I pulled into yet another abandoned gas station as the first drops arrived.  There was a Holiday Inn adjacent so I went into the lobby to wait out the rain... just in the nick of time.

 

 

30 minutes later with no sign of a letup in the storm I hustled across the road to a burger joint.  While there I sat beside 4 sheriff's deputies and asked them about going on... they advised against it and after consulting my weather map I decided to call it a day.  I didn't want to spend my limited budget on a Holiday Inn Express so I put on the wet weather gear and went in search of a reasonably priced motel that would let me park under their awning.  This is what you get for $50 down here.

 

 

Tomorrow I hope the rain holds off.