Sunshine & Sand to Destin Beach

Tony waiting for the Garmin to access satellite

Joan's View

We slept in a bit because today was only a 48 mile ride. We started out around 10:00am











We left Pensacola Beach and had a beautiful ride on a bike trail through the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

 

                     The sign reads "Caution Sand on Road Ahead"

Miles of natural sand dunes with shimmering water on both sides. There were lots of small roadside parks, as well, which means there are lots of restrooms. Tony & I talked about bringing an RV here sometime and just lounging the day at one of the roadside parks. 

With all this sand though, we have to be careful riding through it on our bike, and it seems that motor vehicles have similar issues around here (see above). All this open area made the headwinds much stronger.

As we left the park we rode through an area of nice beach homes. Lots of new construction going on, and Tony is doing his usual checking for new ideas for our upcoming home build. I found this unique home along the route that looks like a celebrity lives there, but opted to skip that encounter.     ➨➨➨

We stopped for lunch at a roadside seafood market with an outside food truck. The owners were originally from Mississippi and moved here after Hurricane Katrina. Since it was their first week with the food truck open and they were a little slow yet, the one owner sat with us while we ate and shared his story about his Katrina experience. They also gave Tony some free beignets because we had to wait for the etouffee rice to cook. Another yum yum stop.

Excuse the hair. It was windy again.

After lunch we rode mostly along the main road that connects these Florida panhandle cities so there were lots of touristy attractions which meant the roads were busy. We had to ride over one bridge today that was only 2 lanes and no bike lane. We had to "own the lane." We both were thinking that Tom would have had a few comments about that bridge. 😣 As we got closer to Destin, the traffic was heavy and we were without a bike lane again. The signs obviously read 🚲share the lane, but I guess there are some drivers who are still learning what that means because a few drove within 3 feet of us, beeped their horns and gave us a look. 

We are staying at a really nice motel with all the amenities. They even gave us a loaf of lemon poppyseed bread for breakfast. Better yet, Tony's insulin pods were here waiting for him. Tony soaked a little in the hot tub while I just put my feet in. We ate dinner at Miller's Ale & Grill. It was a Tony kind of place.

Craft beer heaven

One more item to note. We now have 2 people who have acknowledged that they read Tony's Extras. Tisha was the first to make his day, and now Mary texted that she does too only she sort of averages the results. 

Tony's Extras

Average the results, doesn't sound so good for me.😂 One thing I continue to be amazed at is how good people are. We stopped at this one park where their was a guy mowing, and he just waved and gave us a great smile. Later, we past him again when we were leaving and we got his big wave and loving smile. We see so much of this on the ride and it reminds you that people are good. I saw this sign and it remind me of my fishing neighbor and friend, Bud.

Maybe Bud should be fishing in Destin, The World's Luckiest Fishing Village. There were miles of areas where the traffic was busy with no shoulder where we were riding in the middle of the lane. The majority of dirvers were very cooperative. Only a few were tempermental. I had a beer at Miller's Ale House that was called Good People IPA. Ties to my theme above although just coincidental. It was a good beer and was from Birmingham, Alabama. It was almost as good as Boat Show from Yellow Springs Brewery, which is my most favorite beer. Tomorrow we plan to check out the campgrounds that Jeff Kunk and his family goes for their summer vacation. Jeff bought our 5th wheel camper and truck a few years ago. 

One last shout our to my cousin Karen, who is a faithful reader of our blogs. Probably my only family member that reads it. I am pretty sure my brother and sisters don't read it. Most likely because it is too technically involved.😁