For two miles on the way out of town, we were looking directly into the sun and not seeing much around us.  Then we came to the best bridge our entire trip, gradual grade over St. Louis Bay, a dedicated and separated bike and walking path with lots of opportunity for photos of the area.

As we crossed the second bridge, a quick look back impressed us with just how big our first bridge was.  One turn from the bridge and we were on the Gulf Coast, seabirds singing, beautiful water, white sand beach……just gorgeous.

Huge old homes sat on a ridge separated from the gulf by a large greenway populated by huge old growth trees.  With the sun reflecting hot off the water, we rode a couple miles along the shady ridge, enjoying the homes’ spectacular views.  It was ten miles before we saw our first commercial business and that was set far from our beach road.

New homes were obviously built with new codes to minimize hurricane damage.

Several miles later, we entered Gulfport and evidence of the huge shipping port appeared, along with a very colorful lighthouse.  The promenade of the Port of Gulfport was quite impressive, views of the ships and another lighthouse could be seen through the boats.  More gorgeous homes, beautiful beaches, extravagant restrooms,  only a couple souvenir shops, city hall and a coliseum, all with views of the water; but no tourists to enjoy the amenities.  We pedaled past Jefferson Davis’ home, Beauvoir, the Biloxi Lighthouse,an entrance/exit to the interstate over the water and an interesting art museum, plus several huge casinos.  A bridge over the Biloxi Bay dropped us into Ocean Springs.  It had been recommended we go into town and it was a great call.  A charming downtown greeted us and invited us to stop; an early lunch at a small shop that bragged about their “sassy salads”; not sure about sassy, but delicious, indeed.  We were also instructed to stop at Tato Nuts, “The only real donut” and after you’ve had one, you would agree.  We followed the donuts with a beautiful ride through Gulf Island National Seashore then back out on the highway for the last hour.  Thankfully, the clouds that had been building, shielded the sun’s intense heat for most of the remaining miles.  Two more bridges over Singing River and the very industrious Pascalouga River led us into Pascagoula, the birthplace of Jimmy Buffet.

It was a beautiful ride (hence all the photos) and finally (after 59 miles) a dinner and dessert (Bananas Foster) to write home about.

A cool 72° when we left this morning; the highway sun was  hot, but the breeze we created by pedaling kept us cool and shade trees were always a plus.  The highway was sparsely populated by cars and homes, but the homes we did see were impressive.  For days we’ve been seeing signs for “swamp tours”, but this is as close as we want to get to a swamp tour.

Not sure when in the morning it hit, but the road conditions deteriorated.  We are pretty sure we had entered Alabama at that point; the state just waited a few miles to post the sign (near fresh pavement).

After 15 miles we turned on what looked like a rural road, but was called a highway or Alabama Scenic Byway Coastal Connection.  We drank in the singing birds and homes with yards so large, they could be mistaken for a golf course.  Of course, with backroads comes a few turns and humps and bumps, a small price for the quiet roads.  As we entered the town/village of Bayou La Batre, we wished we’d not had breakfast; fresh shrimp and oysters were being advertised everywhere…rightly so.  It was a working mans town, so Mardi Gras beads everywhere, seemed very out of place.

Once out of town, we traveled several miles of straight road filled with not a lot to see.  A small bridge over the West Fowl River and we were on Mon Louis Island.  We could not see any water, but the homes and churches reflected the proximity to the sea.

Another straight stretch of road, brought us to a six mile causeway with a long view of the four mile bridge over Mobile Bay; plenty of time to contemplate our big climb.  One last stop before the bridge to catch this bird, so still we originally did not think him real.  As we approached the high ridge over the channel, it was like looking up on a rollercoaster.  Thankfully, the breeze that had swirled around us all day, remained at bay (pun intended) and once again the view at the top, spectacular.  Just at the bottom of the bridge we found a restaurant touting the “best food on the island”.  We split a Shrimp Club Po’ Boy (our first), amazing; the shrimp were so huge and delicious…..this will not be our last.  We only had a few miles to our hotel, so stopped to pick up a (happy hour) refreshment and met this crew from Tallahassee biking to the west coast and then north.  Their enthusiasm and innocence reminded us of our first tour.  The couple miles we trekked to our hotel were wonderfully peaceful.  Not sure how we picked our hotel, but the setting was amazing,except for the view of the bridge we just crossed.The only way to top the 45 mile (no humidity, no wind day) was with food and wine.  We shared a Seafood Gumbo, an amazing Spring Salad and a Seafood Sampler with (definitely the best) fried oysters, shrimp, cobia and calamari.  We grabbed a quick ice cream, just before enjoying an amazing sunset.  After all, this is a must in the “Sunset Capital of Alabama”.

Good Night!

Awake early and no place to go before our 8:00 ferry, we did a leisurely pedal though town.  Hard to believe this quiet/sleepy little town is the birthplace of Mardi Gras.  Of course it moved to Mobile and then to New Orleans, before the rowdy began.  Once reaching the ferry, we had time to spare so did a quick visit of Fort Gaines.  The ride out of the inlet was busy and beautiful.  On the ferry over Mobile Bay, we met Ray, from Oregon, biking from California to Florida; check out his bike bags.  We could not believe how many oil rigs stood in the middle of our channel; these iron dinosaurs were everywhere.  We landed in Fort Morgan, ready to put in some miles, so photos were limited to a drive-by.  The sand dunes were breathtakingly white, like freshly fallen snow; it did not look real.  Vacation homes were collected along the waters edge on both sides of us; fishing havens on the Bay, beach havens on the Gulf.  We did not go far before the lure of breakfast pulled us in to a great funky place.  Could not pass up on the amazing breakfast buffet, but did refrain from a Bloody Mary.  This is the way to do a tour, pedal four miles, take a ferry ride, pedal four more miles and have breakfast.  It was a fun place, but it was almost ten in the morning and we’d barely gone ten miles.  We really needed to put the pedal to the metal or we would not get anywhere, today.  As the island got wider, the water views and homes disappeared behind trees, churches and mailboxes were the only tell of people.  The long, straight treelined road offered shade, though.  After 13 miles we got a quick glance of Bon Secour Bay, before the trees again encased the road.  The sun was searing, but there was no humidity, so the shade was cool and comfortable.  At 11:00, the turned towards the water almost overwhelmed us, a two mile stretch of colorful businesses; everything looking new or freshly painted.  We thought we would miss the shade, but there was a cool breeze coming off the water and the beach……well, just Gorgeous and no complaints.  It was a fabulous ride up the coast with beautiful white sand, incredible State Parks, condos, homes.It was a lot to take in,  but our dedicated bike lane made the ride easy.Reaching Alabama Point and Perdido Pass, I was astounded with the color of the water, just breathtaking.  We stopped at Flora-Bama for a quick look/see and listen to a couple tunes.  We had always known this to be a bar, but it is SO much more, including the true border between Florida and Alabama.

Back on the road, the sites continued to impress, with house now appearing on the dune across Big Lagoon.   After 46 miles of coastal pedal we turned inland over Perdido Bay and directly into the pool.  So excited to catch up with Dave and Lynn, we missed all the picture taking.  Lots of laughs, wine and amazing dinner and more catching up tomorrow.  It was time to turn in after our 51 mile day.

The morning was gorgeous, relaxing and best enjoyed with friends.

Dave and Lynn took us on a tour of the neighborhoods and downtown Pensacola, a laid back and quirky town. We toured Seville Quarter, an interesting and eclectic collection of bars, strolled past museums and through the downtown park.All this exercise was making us hungry…..did we mention quirky.  Deliciously satiated, we headed to the iconic, historic and downright amazing Joe Patti’s Seafood Market for some fresh seafood for dinner.  Second generation Patti’s are still at the helm and apparently as sassy as papa Joe.

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon by the pool, shared more stories and catching up.  After an amazing dinner of Norwegian Salmon and pounds of Shrimp, we topped the evening off with a delicious nightcap.  It was a wonderful visit with great friends.

If we did not leave early, we would not leave at all, so Dave and Lynn promptly kicked us out (love you guys)!  We were on the west side of Pensacola, so on quiet roads we headed back to the city to cross the 3 mile Pensacola Bay Bridge.Homes lined the other side of the road with views of the bay.  The busy bridge was under construction, but with a dedicated bike lane, crossing was not a problem.  Once we lost the traffic going to the beach, there were few cars on the road; ample bike lane, but we opted for the shady bike path.  As we settled into a quieter ride, we were very disappointed to not have a view of the water on either side.  Our road split the very wide Gulf Islands peninsula and offered nothing to see; obviously a utilitarian thoroughfare.  There was nothing on the road other than huge churches; more than we’d seen on any single day.  We knew we better stop for breakfast before the church crowd hit the streets, but there was so little on the road.  After 32 miles, we found a perfect (and only) stop spot, good air-conditioning, excellent (and plentiful) food and a nice long rest.  Fully loaded, we headed back out to the highway and heat; it was shortly after ten and already 90°.  Thank goodness the humidity was very low, because the sun was scorching.

This is the second time in ten years, we have seen a giraffe on tour.

After several more miles of not seeing the water, we turned into a neighborhood for a glimpse of water.  We met Paul, though from this area, he’s a Hokie and super nice guy.  After the boys stopped talking about the upcoming football season, we headed on our way.  It was a good sidetrack.

The wind was swirling, occasionally catching our back, occasionally slowing us down.  A quick shady rest overlooking the traffic heading over the bridge to Navarre Beach and a great statue dedicated to those that have served.

Shortly after noon, we had to take an air-conditioned rest.  The hot (91º in the shade, 110 ° in the sun), dry air was sucking it out of us.  Afternoon clouds were collecting and we were fortunate to get some occasional shade.  In our last few miles, we lost our bike lane and traffic was heavy.  Occasionally, we managed a glimpse of huge homes tucked behind tall trees, enjoying long views of the Santa Rosa Sound; pictures were impossible.

We were happy to find a hotel and sanctuary from the heat.  After 59 miles and eating deliciously healthy for the last two days, we stuffed on pasta.

Humidity was as thick as the morning traffic, even with our early 7:00 a.m. start.  A short ride over the bridge to Okaloosa Island offered a superb view of the other half of Fort Walton Beach.  Snowdrifts of sand dunes separated Ft. Walton Beach from Destin. The heavy rush hour took most of the enjoyment out of the fancy resorts, interesting restaurants and colorful tourist trappings.  But water on the Emerald Coast, even with the hazy, humid sky, is just spectacular.

Anxious to get away from the constant rush of traffic, after an hour, we finally found a beach road.  We knew we were on a good course, when bikers turned on to the same road.

The contrast in two blocks was staggering.  Row after row of tightly stacked expensive homes, most of them being used as rentals.  Five miles on this stretch, before we saw our first high-rise (a condo and hotel).  The sun burned through the haze well before nine, enhancing the water, but sun and humidity were going to be a hot combination.  Our home tour lasted for about eight miles before our road of luxury homes turned back to a tree lined highway.  Loads of interior design shops and high end furniture stores were on the highway, even Goodwill had a “design” store; definitely an affluent area. Traffic was slightly better, but still took the next opportunity to rejoin the beach road and a nice bike path.  The storm brewing south of us was creating some “interesting” cloud formations; we were just happy for the shade.   This two lane road took a couple miles before more unbelievable tightly packed facades appeared.  This area was a bit more eclectic and there were still a couple of small home holdouts.  Small lots warranted very narrow and tall homes.  We’d venture that this is the next area to see massive (and expensive) development.  A wide multi-use path made travel via bike, almost as fast as the cars, until we hit the rolling roads, picturesque but taxing.  One neighborhood melded into the next, but Seaside was a bit more unique, just not easily photographed.  Duckies took a rest in the shade in this charming town.But we have never seen so much “over the top”, so close together homes, overwhelming but fun.  On the way out of town, we had a delicious early lunch, popcorn shrimp and amazing blackened chicken.  Sometime in the miles of extravagance, we reached the seriously way over the top neighborhood of Alys Beach.  A fairly new development with homes starting in the multi-million dollar range.

Forty six miles from our start this morning, we saw the first normal commercialization, as we turned toward the beaches of Panama City.Emerald water still glistened, beachfront homes were incredible diversified and empty foundations spoke of destructive storms.  Red flags began to appear on the beaches, warning of rough waters.  As we were reaching the end of the day, the southeast wind began to pick up; couldn’t wait to duck behind the hotel doors for relief.  Dinner was just down the street; food as delicious and the decor was fun.

Overloading the pictures, because sadly, today was our last day of the tour.  A tropical depression is heading our way! With the threat of lightening and four days of rain, we are pulling the plug on the trip and heading home.  In actuality, we are only a week short of our intended stop, but better safe than sorry.  As always, thank Everyone for joining us this trip.  We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did, and we sincerely hope we see you sometime in the future.

Stay tuned for the follow-up of this trip.

10th Anniversary

San Antonio, Texas to Panama City Beach, Florida or Coastal Social #2

We had no idea we would see so many people that we knew, or meet so many new friends on this trip, hence the second Coastal Social designation.

When we last left off, we were doubting our decision to abort the trip because of a forecasted Tropical Depression.  It was not raining when we woke and the ceiling was high.  But when Jim Cantore comes on The Weather Channel and he is in the same town as you, it is time to go!

1238 Total Miles
    (shortest distance)
30 days total
    (shortest tour)
includes 4 days off to enjoy great friendships
    (a day off once a week is a good average)
47 miles a day average
5 hours a day average on the bike seat

States Covered
15 days in Texas
7 days in Louisiana – the worst roads, but really friendly people
2 days in Mississippi
1 day in Alabama
4 days in Florida

It still has not been decided if this was our swan song tour, but for now, we are pretending it is.  Thank you to all that opened their hearts and homes to us, for the new friends we met and as always, for the encouraging comments along the way.  End of touring days or not, we will still ride.