We had a short ride through the darling quaint town of Southport.  Old homes had been colorfully converted to businesses and stately homes sat on a ridge overlooking the Cape Fear River.  Waiting for the ferry, we realized just how much the wind was blowing, southwest at 15 mph.  It felt like a fall day/football kinda weather; best of all that wind would be over our shoulder.

During the twenty minute ferry crossing (in operation since 1965), we passed the Archer Daniels Midland Terminal (details below)and enjoyed the view of Oak Island Lighthouse (more facts below).  Arriving at Fort Fisher, we immediately felt the tailwind, as we rode past this Civil War Battlefield and Landmark, caught a glimpse of the Atlantic and then through a couple beach towns.  Kure Beach was bright with color and what looked like mostly new homes.  This beach folded into the older resort of Carolina Beach, where rental homes, motels and condos were plenty.  With no continuous road on the islands, we once again were forced inland to cross the inland waterway and navigate the sound, rivers, inlets and other bodies of water that make this area so desirable for the water lover.  The country roads were busy with people getting a jump on the holiday weekend, but speed limits were low, so everyone got along.  We bicycled through a smorgasbord of homes and neighborhoods;enjoying the small homes with big porches, as much as, the bright and shinny neighborhoods.

Our 36 miles of sightseeing ended when we hit Highway 17, hopefully for the last time this trip.  But we had a nice shoulder and now a direct tailwind, so we flew down the road.  Riding in cool temperatures with a 20 mph tailwind is about the best way to travel this road; it was a gorgeous day.

A few more miles down the road, we stopped for our daily iced tea and lunch/snack.  We took a longer break than normal, as the wind had progressed our mileage ahead of our scheduled arrival.  When our shoulder ended, we gained a wide sidewalk/path along the highway,  we continued to hum down the road.

At mile 52, we turned off the highway and our rapid progress came to a halt, as the strong wind we had enjoyed all day, wiped around to our side and occasionally front to challenge our upward and forward mobility.  The last five miles took us almost thirty minutes to ride, fighting the wind the whole way….but we were due.  It was a small price to pay for the enjoyable tailwind for most of the ride.  Less than a mile to go and our path abruptly ended.  We walked our bikes to the road and then threaded our way through the traffic still unmoving from the recent bridge lift.

Shortly after checking in, thunder rumbled and the skies opened, it poured; by dinnertime, there was not a cloud in the sky.

A short stroll down the beach road brought us to dinner, with a beautiful view of the ocean and a bowl of Jambalaya and Lobster and Shrimp Marinara that could not be finished.  A shot or two more as the sun kissed the waves, goodnight, as we will do too, after 57 miles.