We awakened to stifling heat and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that we wouldn’t be riding today. We staggered out of the tent and sat on our picnic bench, watching the only movement in sight, which happened to be a troop of Boy Scouts from Milwaukee WI, on a two week outing in Florida, currently in the campsite right next to ours. We didn’t mean to stare, but we were half dead, and it was really impressive watching their organization. We got to chatting with the leaders of the troop, and heard about their adventures – they go every year to some amazing place for about two weeks, with the high school age boys. They’ve been to the Canadian Rockies and the Florida Keys, among other places, and they were headed out today for Cocoa Beach, up the coast in Florida. They told us that they would be posting our adventure on their website, so we’ll give them time to get back home and get unpacked, and we’ll check it out. They also told us to be sure to check in with them when we pass through their area, and we’ll definitely do that.
The heat was so awful today that we couldn’t do anything. The thought of getting on our bikes, even without the trailers, sounded dreadful. We could barely read, we were so hot. We ended up heading over to the marina and watching the snorkeling boats go out. There was shade under the pavilion, we got to talk to a new group of people every couple of hours, and there was a snack bar nearby where we got lunch. We met a young man named Corey who was doing a research project on protecting the coral reefs and we spent time talking to him when he wasn’t having to collect data. He was a wonderful guy! He was wonderfully intelligent and well-balanced, and he had spent last semester in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. We were enthralled with his descriptions of the area, and we wanted to short-cut this part of the trip and get right over there. We enjoyed talking to Corey so much that we suggested he join up with us after he finishes his senior year, and I think he just might.
We got very organized tonight and were ready for bed in plenty of time. Our goal is to take off really early – be riding away by 6:30 or so. That means we have to get up by 5 a.m. and work fast. Wouldn’t you know that the campground was really noisy tonight – it is full of RVs and trailers and boats, and many folks have screened in porches. One had a television set and our neighbors on the other side had a full Play Station type gaming system set up!
Our tent is only a few feet away from our neighbors –close enough to hear the air mattress squeak and scrunch with every movement, and close enough to hear the snoring. The air mattress is making us crazy – that’s one restless dude over there! I so want to deflate that thing! I am fantasizing about getting out my pocket knife and putting a small hole in it – I can see the headlines now “Mother/daughter cycling team arrested on charges of malicious mischief for committing ‘mattress-ide’.”
Signing off from John Pennekamp State Park…