...Big Trip Journal Entries....

Not quite ready for segment #2, I thought I would post a few entries from my journal of 2002/2003 on our one year bike excursion!

A P.S. notation on a page near the beginning of our trip:  I dropped my bike today for the first time.  It's OK to say S - - T sometimes!

...in the shower tonight I got close to the shower head to rinse my face.  Next thing I knew my whole world was black.  I couldn't see a thing! ... and my nose was in great pain and burning!  Seems the shower head blew off the pipe and hit me on the nose, breaking the skin!  The black was me closing my eyes!

Found the following description in a Jane Austin novel.  Fanny was describing a brilliant clear night:  "Here's harmony!  Here's repose!  Here's what may leave all painting and music behind, and what poetry only can attempt to describe.  Here's what may tranquillize every care, and lift the heart to rapture!"  (I LOVE the words!)

Springhill, Florida:  We were walking in a residential area and met a big turtle walking in the middle of the street!  Later as we sat by the pool at our hotel Peter saw a lizard and a few minutes later a little green frog jumped onto his leg!  (I'm SO glad that was not my leg because I would have screamed like a wild animal!)

In Marathon, Florida .... we met an old guy at our hotel today who told us we were "Just amazing!  Yet so peculiar and interesting!  Yet strange and dangerous;  and SO exciting!"  He stood in front of us looking so peculiar in his baby bonnet cinched tightly underneath his chin, shorts exposing some very skinny wrinkled knees, exclaiming and talking AT us all the while about how cold it was in the south and totally unfit for biking!  We meet the oddest people some days!

In the French Quarter, New Orleans ... we had beinets at Cafe du Monde, an open sided cafe with pigeons flying through the crowd, walking around my feet and even sitting on the fan almost straight above our heads!  (I include this for those readers aware of my bird phobia!)

...had supper next to the local Harley Shop at a Bar & Grill and discussed how to live holy lives! 

...a blonde moment in the life of a brunette....

I was so excited to go to Daytona Beach on our Harley's!  I had heard about it and read about it for years. We were not going there the ever popular bike week I had read so much about, however I was still thrilled to see where all this fun takes place every year.

The area was unfamiliar to me so I lagged behind somewhat in order to read road signs and enjoy the scenery without having to worry about getting too close to my husband's bike.  He prefers that I do not lag TOO far behind so even though I saw many signs I was simply skimming most of them.

I noticed a number of signs regarding "greyhound races" at Daytona.  By the time we arrived at Daytona Beach I was so excited about the possibility of watching these races.  The excitement mounted as I realized the hotel my husband stopped at was right beside the race track!  After we stopped, he was busy beside his bike, on his knees, trying to get something out of his saddle bag when I piped up with "Well one thing I would really like to do while we are here is take in those bus races (for many miles I had visions of those big greyhound buses careening down the race track at Daytona Beach and I couldn't wait to see what that would look like!)  My husband stopped rummaging for a few seconds, looked up at me with a look I never want to see on his face again, and mumbled "THOSE are NOT BUSES!  they are DOGS!!"  I could not believe my ears!  Not once had it occurred to me that greyhound referred to dogs!

What a let down!  Who would want to watch dogs race any way?!