Bob
wins the lotto - all of $5.00!Another terrific day down here in Florida. The weather was a bit more humid today, the wind was a little less than when on yesterday's ride. It took a lot of coordination on the part of the leaders to get the bikes and riders who wanted to sag out to Myakka State Park and just do the 36 mile loop around the park, and also make sure that those who just wanted to do the 50 miles out to the park and then sag back -- and the third option was to keep track of who was doing the entire 77 mile ride - which was ride to the park, stop and rest, but not do the loop in the park, and then ride back to the motel. It all went so smoothly -- and there were plenty of drivers with vans and cars and everyone who rode bikes got to do the ride option they wanted. I was in the group of about 20 riders who started out at 8:30. We stayed together until about the 35 mile mark when some of us wanted a little more to eat. Paul, Toni and I ate at a place called the Fire Station Sub Shop. Good sub sandwiches. There was a very shady and neat lane of about 6 or so miles called the Canopy drive. Trees were hanging over the road with moss hanging down. We entered the north gate to the state park and continued on a road to the other end of the park. By this time we were meeting all the other riders who had been at the park for several hours. Most all of us got off the bikes and walked along the Canopy Trail that led back about 1/8 of a mile to a 76.1 feet tower that we climbed to overlook the park and the Myakka River. Many people spotted alligators today. One looking about 10-15 foot was beached along side the water. Many were swimming slowly along looking for goodies to eat. All bikers have been accounted for!
The riders who did the entire route rolled into town at 5:00 PM - just in time to shower and get ready for the pool side gathering. It is winter here, and it gets dark early, so we will be under the stars - but still so comfortable to be outdoors. There will be a pizza party for our dinner. We all signed up yesterday for what kinds of pizza we want delivered.
Going back to last night: I finished this web site update about 9 of us went to a really nice restaurant a couple miles down along the Gulf and bay area. It is called the Crow's Nest. A very busy and upscale restaurant. A few enjoyed plates of fresh oysters and there were lots of items to choose from on the menu.
When the group I was riding with this morning stopped at one of those convenience gas stations stores while we were snacking, Bob Baker was scratching off his lotto ticket he purchased. Cheers went up when he announced a winning ticket. We all thought we would have a night on the town with his winnings. But when he came back out with a crisp $5 bill - that ended that dream!
The park was just wonderful with so many, many birds and wild life everywhere. There are birds I've never seen before. Some saw an eagle too. Little lizards were running across the road in front of us several times today. Saw a group of 3 baby raccoons too that came pretty close to the road. In the park it was shady and we just took our time wandering through it on our bikes.
Oh, I forgot to get a photo of Oprah Winfrey's house. As we rode through this section on Casey Keys with zillion dollar homes, hers was among them. It has "O" 's in the front of the house. I'll ask someone who was taking pictures of it, if I can upload it here. - Later.
Some photos from today:
Bob
wins the lotto - all of $5.00!
Erika's
favorite drink -- Hammmmmms?
Ready to
ride
Looking
down at folks from the tower Myakka Park
Rich,
Toni, Erika, Bob
76.1foot
climb to top of tower, Myakka State Park
Typical
tree moss here in Florida