Riding Toward the Daytona 500
Tony's View
We left St. Augustine and headed to Daytona. It was sunny and warm again today. Tom Winslow, a college friend, rode with us today and his wife, Cindy, followed and led by car. Cindy took our bags, so we rode with a lot less weight (hopefully we don't get spoiled).
Our first stop right out of the gate was the Fountain of Youth, only we just stopped and got a picture. Joan doesn't need it because she looks so young (except in our kids mind). I know you punks at Choice One think I am old, but I know I am young and good looking.
The next stop was about 15 miles farther down the road at Fort Matanzas. It is a fort on the Matanzas River that was placed at the throat of the Atlantic Ocean to guard the back door of St. Augustine. It was pretty neat. We took a ferry across the river to tour it. The picture to the left shows us three on top of the fort looking down river. The other picture shows Cindy coming up the cubby hole on a ladder to get to the top. We headed out from there to get lunch. The wind was strong today but thank God it was at our back making it very easy to go 20mph. If any of you followed Wade and I on our cross-country trip on www.TonyChasingWade.blogspot.com, we always complained about the wind being a headwind. Joan and I are having good luck so far, so we came to the conclusion that Wade is the bad luck.
We ate lunch about halfway to Daytona at Captain's Barbecue, and it was awesome. Joan had ribs for lunch, and I had a Cuban sandwich. We took the picture outside by the smoker. The restaurant had earned a bunch of awards, and we feel they were well earned. We actually rode on a lot of bike paths today and it was cool riding through the trees with Spanish moss on them. See the photo at left.
We rode for miles along beaches, and it was amazing how they were out in the middle of nowhere and very quiet. The picture shows Cindy heading to a beach to lounge and read while we rode. Something I shouldn't tell everyone is that also at this park is where I was looking back for Tom and dumped our tandem with Joan still clipped in. Luckily, Joan didn't get hurt, and the only thing that really got hurt was my pride. It was kind of like the way Wade dumped Marla on GOBA several years ago, in slow motion. Yes, it happened even to me, dang it.
Tom was following us all day and he started calling me 3 feet Tony because of my shirt. He was calling me this at one of the places we stopped and some girls at the next table laughed and giggle at his name for me. We then rode on into Ormond Beach, which is pretty much Daytona, totaling 53 miles. With the wind at our back riding was top notch, even you bums at Choice One could handle it. After we got to the hotel and cleaned up we went on the Daytona boardwalk and enjoyed the sights along the ocean. Joan and Cindy did some go-cart racing and it got fierce. Joan's cart was much faster, and she enjoyed messing around with Cindy.
Later, we went to eat at a really cool fast food pizza place called Pie Five Pizza. They had a Periodic Table of toppings, some geeky fun. It was like a Chipotle where you pick one of 4 handmade crusts, then a sauce, then garlic, spinach, cheeses and all the other toppings similar to how you build a burrito. They put it in their oven and by the time you pay for it, it comes out hot and ready to eat. Tom thinks this company could be a great investment, seems like a great idea. Tomorrow looks like another nice day weather wise.
Cindy already drank from the Fountain of Youth another time that she was visiting St. Augustine and said that it didn't work for her (amazes me), so I decided not to pay the $15 asking price for a drink from the fountain of youth. I'll stick with my drug store bought lotions.
The Daytona 500 is here this weekend so there are lots of signs up welcoming "race fans." Cindy & I just decided to get in on the race with some go cart fun.
Lastly, Cindy brought her Mah Jong set along because I told her that Carol showed us how to play in China. The rest of us played while Tony wrote his part of the blog. Wow, American Mah Jong is sooo different!
The next stop was about 15 miles farther down the road at Fort Matanzas. It is a fort on the Matanzas River that was placed at the throat of the Atlantic Ocean to guard the back door of St. Augustine. It was pretty neat. We took a ferry across the river to tour it. The picture to the left shows us three on top of the fort looking down river. The other picture shows Cindy coming up the cubby hole on a ladder to get to the top. We headed out from there to get lunch. The wind was strong today but thank God it was at our back making it very easy to go 20mph. If any of you followed Wade and I on our cross-country trip on www.TonyChasingWade.blogspot.com, we always complained about the wind being a headwind. Joan and I are having good luck so far, so we came to the conclusion that Wade is the bad luck.
We ate lunch about halfway to Daytona at Captain's Barbecue, and it was awesome. Joan had ribs for lunch, and I had a Cuban sandwich. We took the picture outside by the smoker. The restaurant had earned a bunch of awards, and we feel they were well earned. We actually rode on a lot of bike paths today and it was cool riding through the trees with Spanish moss on them. See the photo at left.
We rode for miles along beaches, and it was amazing how they were out in the middle of nowhere and very quiet. The picture shows Cindy heading to a beach to lounge and read while we rode. Something I shouldn't tell everyone is that also at this park is where I was looking back for Tom and dumped our tandem with Joan still clipped in. Luckily, Joan didn't get hurt, and the only thing that really got hurt was my pride. It was kind of like the way Wade dumped Marla on GOBA several years ago, in slow motion. Yes, it happened even to me, dang it.
Tom was following us all day and he started calling me 3 feet Tony because of my shirt. He was calling me this at one of the places we stopped and some girls at the next table laughed and giggle at his name for me. We then rode on into Ormond Beach, which is pretty much Daytona, totaling 53 miles. With the wind at our back riding was top notch, even you bums at Choice One could handle it. After we got to the hotel and cleaned up we went on the Daytona boardwalk and enjoyed the sights along the ocean. Joan and Cindy did some go-cart racing and it got fierce. Joan's cart was much faster, and she enjoyed messing around with Cindy.
Later, we went to eat at a really cool fast food pizza place called Pie Five Pizza. They had a Periodic Table of toppings, some geeky fun. It was like a Chipotle where you pick one of 4 handmade crusts, then a sauce, then garlic, spinach, cheeses and all the other toppings similar to how you build a burrito. They put it in their oven and by the time you pay for it, it comes out hot and ready to eat. Tom thinks this company could be a great investment, seems like a great idea. Tomorrow looks like another nice day weather wise.
Joan's Side Note
Cindy already drank from the Fountain of Youth another time that she was visiting St. Augustine and said that it didn't work for her (amazes me), so I decided not to pay the $15 asking price for a drink from the fountain of youth. I'll stick with my drug store bought lotions.
The Daytona 500 is here this weekend so there are lots of signs up welcoming "race fans." Cindy & I just decided to get in on the race with some go cart fun.
Lastly, Cindy brought her Mah Jong set along because I told her that Carol showed us how to play in China. The rest of us played while Tony wrote his part of the blog. Wow, American Mah Jong is sooo different!
The suitcases arrived in Key West today. Looking forward to your arrival.
ReplyDeleteSteve and Lynne
You guys are having way too much fun. Sherpa's doing the work lugging your gear. I'm looking forward to seeing that contraption loaded.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Choice One is going to have their go-to team for the race to anyplace this year.