Gainesville, FL to Palatka, FL
Time to leave our wonderful hosts, after a wonderful dinner last night, and an equally fabulous breakfast this morning. Tom and Martha led us out the back of their property, through other properties, and eventually to the main road. This saved us valuable at least two miles from going around the front way. Interesting riding over limestone and grass, and the occasional sand. I had to walk through the sand, as it can grab your wheel and stop your bike in a nano-second, like it did yesterday when my wheel sank two inches into the sand. Yes, I fell over because I could not unclip my pedals in time, but no injuries!
Tom R, Eileen, Ken, and I were the last to leave, and we decided to visit the Payne's Prairie Preserve and Alachua Sink, where we parked our bikes and walked 3/4 of a mile on a boardwalk. This sink eventually feeds the Ichetucknee Springs, 40 miles away, through the underground aquifer. I'm kind of glad for the boardwalk, as we did see one alligator basking in the shallow water. Note the photo where the alligator is seriously camouflaged.
On our way, we found ourselves on a very nice bicycle trail from Gainesville to Hawthorne. The trail was built on an old railway bed, so it was slightly raised over the natural terrain. We kept our eyes out for gators in the swampy areas, but did not see any. Much of the water remains from hurricane Irma, and it is slow to drain.
In Hawthorne, the four of us stopped at Dianne's Old Time Barbeque. Had to stop there, as the love of my life spells her name the same. Unfortunately, the quality did not live up to the name! Ironically, we passed Fast Eddie's yesterday evening on the way in to our hosts' place, so the photos are adjacent.
We pulled into the Quality Inn in Palatka at around 3:00, right on the St. John's River. After a shower and drying out my tent, I took a quick power nap, then off to the barber across the street, on foot. Wow, did I get lucky, as a vehicle almost mowed me down in the crosswalk, while I had the green pedestrian cross signal. While in the crosswalk, I heard a very close screech, and felt something brush my pants. That "something" was the vehicle making a left turn, from behind me, so I didn't see it. The driver claimed he had a left turn arrow, but that would have been impossible. He apologized in his own way, and we both thanked the lord that nothing happened. I was truly blessed, as this is the last night before the big finish! I had visions of being in a hospital bed while everyone else was dipping their wheels in the Atlantic!
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